K!»itiRhltnfililtK»fl)»MfillMi  v 


Pennsylvania 

Colonial    a  n  d     F  e  d  e  r  a  I 


>  «ix.  r.  'Xm^"^^' 


^a/kyU^A^  ^  5^  ^»tit<fyAa^Mt-  „%<rf^2*i>«^  Sdi/^^ijA*r,^Stin£>''yu 


Penns 

Colon. 


1  Society  of  Pennsylvania 


ii^ 


Pennsylvania 

Colonial    and    Federal 

A    HISTORY    :    :    :     1608-1903 
Editor    HOWARD     M .    JENKINS 


l^olume  One 


Pennsylvania  Historical  Publishing  Association 
One  hun(1re(i  and  forty  North  Fifteenth  Street 
Philadelphia   •    Pennsylvania    :    :    :    :    McMiii 


Copyright,   1903 
By  Tlie  Pennsylvania  Historical  Pni)lisiiin.ir  Association 


/^/^  ^ANTA   BARBARA 

VI 


PENNSYLVANIA   COLONIAL 
AND  FEDERAL  •  A  HISTORY 


Cfittor  in  (Jlbirf 
HOWARD  M.  JEXKINS 

autbors 
HOWARD  M.  JENKIxWS,  CHARLES  P.  KEITH,  LEWIS 
R.  IL\RLEV,  Pii.  D..  WILLIAM  J.  HOLLAND,  LL.  D., 
JOHN  D.  SHAKER,  NATHAN  C.  SCHAEFFER,  Ph.D., 
IJ..  D.,  CHARLES  W.  DULLES.  M.  D.,  ALEXANDER 
K.  McCLURE,  LL.  D..  LEWLS  CASS  ALDRICH.  JAMES 
M.  SWANK,  DOLPH  B.  ATHERTON.  H.  PERRY 
SAHTH.  J.  T.   ROTHROCK.   AL  D.,   B.  S.       :      :       :       :       : 

Sl00octatr  (Suitors 
GEORGE  WHARTON  PEPPER,  LL.  D..  STANLEY 
WOODWARD.  B.  A.,  LOUIS  ARTHUR  WATRES. 
GEORGE  EDWARD  REED.  S.  T.  13..  LL.  D..  WILLIAM 
Pi-:RR1NE,  HENRY  (JRAIIAM  ASH.MEAD.  JOHN  P. 
VINCENT.       :       :       : 


Preface 


TIM':  1 1  IS  Torn'  Ol-  l'I-:.\XS\L\'AXI.\.  it  win  he  con- 
ceded li\-  all  familiar  willi  the  subject,  has  nut  heretofore 
been  presented  in  any  work  with  the  fullness  or  the 
hreadili  of  treatment  to  wliich  it  has  been  entitled.  I'iiere  have 
been  numerous  essays  toward  it.  fmui  the  time  of  l\ol)ert  Proud 
down  to  a  more  recent  day,  some  of  them  worthy  of  much  appre- 
ciation and  deserxing'  of  hio'li  praise,  yet  it  still  remained  true 
that  at  the  end  of  three  centuries  our  lOmnionwealth  ;md  its 
people  were  without  an  adecjuate  and  a  completely  satisfactory 
history.  It  was  to  supi)l)'  such  a  history  that  Fb)ward  M.  Jenkins, 
sex'eral  years  since,  undertook  the  prej^aration  and  supervision  of 
the  \'olimies  which  are  now  submitted  to  the  public.  The 
subject  is  itself  one  of  tmusual  complexity.  To  the  making  of 
Pennsylvania,  in  the  early  time,  many  streams  of  life  contribiUed. 
and  the  mingling"  and  fusion  of  these,  not  without  friction  and 
even  conHict.  is  a  theme  which  called  for  an  open  mind  and  a  just 
discrimination.  So.  too.  since  the  Colon}-  became  the  State,  its 
career  has  been  directed  and  illustr.ited  b\'  men  of  \arying  char- 
acters. f|ualities  and  opinion^.  To  the  development  of  its  \ast 
material  interests  and  the  u])l)uilding  of  its  industries,  energy 
and  capital  ha\e  been  api)lied  in  a  degree  practicall}'  une(|U.'dled 
in  the  w<  rld's  experience.  lo  attain  the  high  standard  of 
excellence  necessary  to  properl\-  co\er  this  \aried  subject,  well 
known  authorities  on  special  periods  and  topics  liaxe  made  con- 

vii 


Preface 

irilmtions  U>  the  narrative  that  ha\e  materially  enhanced  its  scDpe 
and  valne.  Of  the  portions  n\  this  work  so  contributed  may  be 
especially  mentioned  the  Educational  System  by  Xathan  C. 
Schaeffer;  Pennsylvania  Journalism  by  Alexander  K.  McClure; 
the  Iron  ludustry  by  James  M.  Swank ;  the  Coal  Fields  by  Dolph 
1-5.  Atherton ;  iM^'estry  l)y  Iosei)h  T.  Rothrock ;  chapters  eight  to 
eighteen  of  volume  one  and  chapters  one  to  ionr  of  V(-)lume  two 
by  Charles  P.  Keith;  a  portion  of  the  chapter  on  the  Medical 
P'rofessioii  bv  Charles  W.  Dulles;  Pittsburgh  and  its  Environs  by 
William  j.  Holland;  Allegheny  County  Judiciary  by  John  D. 
Shafer.  Other  m(xst  valuable  material  has  been  contributed  or 
assistance  rendered  bv  public  spirited  citizens  in  \arious  ])arts  of 
the  Commonwealth,  among  whom  are  Stanley  Woodward,  Lewis 
Arthur  Watres.  James  T.  Mitchell,  Plampden  E.  Carson,  Samuel 
W.  renHV])acker,  (ieorge  Wharton  Pepper.  Lewis  R.  Harley, 
C.  La  Rue  Munson,  John  P.  Vincent.  John  W.  Simonton.  Robert 
Snodgrass,  Martin  Bell,  Joshua  Douglass.  John  Dalzell.  William 
Perrine,  William  M.  Brown.  Benjamin  Whitman.  George  Morris 
Philips,  Albert  S.  Bolles,  (icorge  Edward  Reed,  Horace  E. 
Havden.  William  A.  Kelker.  Samuel  B.  Shearer.  Mrs.  William 
M.  Darlington.  Mrs.  Louise  Welles  Murray.  Henry  Graham 
Ashmead.  Julius  \\  Sachse.  Albert  Rosenthal.  Robert  W.  Leslie, 
I-'rank  Reeder,  E.  W.  Spangier,  C.  D.  Clark,  Lewis  Cass  Aldrich, 
and  11.  I'erry  Smith.  The  valuable  help  extended  by  the  officers 
and  assistants  in  the  public  libraries  throughout  the  State,  The 
Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania.  The  American  Philosophical 
Society.  The  Historical  Society  of  Dauphin  County,  The  Wy- 
oming Historical  and  (Geological  Society,  The  Tioga  Point 
Historical  Society,  and  other  similar  organizations  deserves 
particular  mention  and  gratitude. 

Till-:   Pri'.LiSHEKS. 
Phii,.\I)E!.I']ii.\,  May  i,  1903. 


VI 11 


Contents 


CH.XPTKR   1 
The  Indians  of  Pennsylvania i 

CHAPT1:R   II 
Pioneer  White  Men  in  Penxsvi.vaxia — 1608-1638.  .  .  .      .^o 

CHAPTI'.R  III 

The  Swedes:  The  First  Settlement  in  Pennsylvania 

— 1638-1655    (^7 

chapti-:r  W 

The  Dutch  Settlement — 1655-1664 i  i  i 

chapti<:r  \' 

Under  the  Dike  of  York — ir)r)4-ihSi 135 

CI-IAPTI'-R   \I 
The  ForNDER  of  Pennsylvania 188 

CIlAPI'l'-R    \II 
1'he  Beginning  of  Penn's  Colony— if >Si-i  700 2}f^ 

c"ii.\i'Ti-:i<  \  mi 

The  English   Si:TrLi;MENT 307 

ix 


Contents 

CHAPTER   IX 

'riii-:  SrsrKxsioN  and  Rkstoratiox  oi-   I'enx's  Goverx- 

MEXT  Axn  His  Secoxd  \'isit 325 

CHAPTER  X 

PeXX's    LlElTENANT-CioVERXORS 346 

CHAPTER  XI 
The  Ci-Ai.M  OF  the  Heir-at-La\v 363 

CHAPTER  XH 
The  Time  of  John  Penn  "The  American" 374 

CHAPTER  XHI 
Thomas  Penn  and  Richard  Penn      402 

CHAPTER  XTV 
The  French  Invasion      415 

CHAPTER  XV 
The  Revolt  of  the  Delawares 445 

CHAPTER  XVI 
The  Expulsion  of  the  French 479 

CHAPTER  XVn 
The  AIen  of  the  I-'rontiek      510 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
The  Attempt  to  Change  the  Covernment 540 


Etchings 


William   I'kn.v • Frontispiece 

Hexky  Melchiok  MriiLE.\REK(; Opposite  page    iSo 

Benjamin'   Kranklix Opposite  page  192 

Daviii  RiTTEX house Opposite  page  320 

Robert  ^^0RRIS Opposite  page  4CX) 

Bexjamix   West Opposite  pag'?  464 

AxTnoxv   Wayxe Opposite  page  528 


Illustrations 


TXDIAX  ROIK   CaKVIXC 4,  S,   13.  20 

Spanish  Hill 2^ 

Axel  Oxexstierx — Portrait 29 

JoHiX  Smith — Portrait 37 

Glstavus  Adoli'his — Portrait .11 

James   T — Portrait 45 

Peter  Stuyvesant — Portrait 51 

Henry  Hudso.v — Portrait 37 

Charles  H — Portrait 60 

PeNN'S  AfTOGRAI'H   AXIl  SeAL  ON  THE  ClIARTER  OF   16S3 6t 

Ar M s  OF  Pen N 64 

Lord  Baltimore — Portrait f>8 

Calvert  Arms 73 

David  Pietersen  De  Vries — Portrait 77 

Aic.rsTiNE  Herman — Portrait S4 

SlGNATlKE  OF   DaVID   Li.O\  It ^5 

\i 


Illustrations 

'liTi-K  Pace  (IF  E.nt.lisii  IIudk  L'seh  to  IxKi-rKxcE  Immkikation  to  Penx- 

s  ylva  nj  a  89 

Original  Se-^l  of  Chester  Cointv 92 

Reproduition  of  West's  "Pexx's  Tkeat'.-  w  ith  the  Ixdiaxs" 95 

Belt  of  Wampum loi 

The  Treaty  Elm 109 

SlCNATlRE  OF  WiLLIAM    PeXN Il6 

Proclamation  of  the  Charter  to  William  Penn 125 

Signature  of  Thomas  Lloyd 128 

Signature  of  Edward  Shippen 129 

Seal  of  David  Lloyd 132 

Old  Penn  ]\L-\nsion,  Letitia  Court 137 

Signature  of  Thomas  Wynne 1 140 

Caleb  Pusey'  House 14^ 

Signature  of  Tamanen 144 

Signature  of  Nicholas  More 145 

Title  Page  of  Dutch  Book  to  Influence  Immigration  to  Pennsylvania  149 

James  II — Portrait i53 

Signature  of  William  Markham 156 

George  Fox — Portrait 1 37 

Signature  of  Arthur  Cooke 160 

William  Penn's  Chair 164 

Signature  of  John  Blackwell 165 

SiGNATT-RE    OF    JoSEPH    GrOWDON l68 

Title  Page  of  English  Book  to  Induce  Immigration  to  Pennsylvania.    169 

SlGNATl^RE  OF  WiLLIAM    ClARKE ." 1  72 

Signature  of  Benjamin  Fletcher 1/3 

Great  Meeting  House i "6 

Signature  of  Samuel  Carpenter 1 77 

Signature  of  John  Goodsonn 182 

Seal  of  Bucks  County  Inrolment  Office 184 

Signature  of  John  Simcocks 185 

Signature  of  John  Blunston 186 

Old  Swedes'  Church 1 90 

Title  Page  of  German  Book  to  Induce  Immigration  to  Pennsylvania.  .    197 
Great  Seal  of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania — 17x2: 

Obverse  200 

Reverse  201 

QueeSt  Anne — Port  rait 205 

Seal  of  Register-General's  Office 209 

xii 


Illustrations 

Home  of  ](>hs  Harris 212 

Geor(;e  I — Portrait 213 

Graeme  Park .   219 

Heading  of  First  Paper  Plblished  ix  Pennsyiaam.\ 221 

William  Keith — Portrait 229 

Court  Holse  or  City  Hall,  Chester 232 

Ancestral  Home  of  the  Lincolxs 2;i~ 

Isaac   Norris — Portrait  and   Signature -'40 

Logan  Arms 244 

Stenton  .  245 

Lesser  Seal  of  Province 248 

Original  Log  College  Biildi ng 252 

The  Bartram  House 256 

Kelso  Ferry  House 260 

Birthplace  of  Benjamin  West • .   264 

Seal  of  Bucks  County  in  1738 ^68 

Old  Hammer  and   Trowei.  Inn 272 

Boeum's  Reformed  Churc  h 276 

Paxton  Church 280 

Sisters'  House  and  Saal,  Ephrata 284 

Interior  of  Saal.  Ephrata  Cloister 288 

Old  Trappe  Chirch .   292 

Thomas  Penn — Portrait 297 

Nicholas  Louis  Zinzendorf — Portrait 303 

George  Whitefield — Portrait  and  Signature 309 

Whitefield  House  or  Nazareth  Stockadf. 312 

Title  Page  of  Saur  Bible 317 

Old  Franklin  Press 321 

Specimen  of  Ephrata  Cloister  Pen  Work 329 

Specimens  of  Ephrata  Community  Wood  Cuts 333 

Thomas   Cadwalader — Portrait 336 

Copy  of  Celeron's  Leaden   Plates 341 

Washington's  Hili 344 

Specimen  of  Ephrata  Cloister   >"lisi( 349 

]*"ranklin's  Device 353 

James  Hamilton — Portrait .  356 

Old  Shawanee  Church 360 

Richard    Penn — Portrait 365 

Relics  from  Dunbar's  Camp : 369 

Ralston,  or  Brown  I-'ort 377 

xiii 


Illustrations 

George   Ckoghan — Portrait 380 

Mat  Showing  Location  of  Fort  Shiri.kv 3S4 

Brietenback  Block  Hol'se 389 

E.  Braodock — Portrait  and  Signature 393 

Bradpock's  Field 397 

Rocking   Family  Meat-Cutter 403 

.Map  of  Pennsylvania  Issued  in    175^) 409 

Timothy  Horsfield — Portrait 417 

Plan  of  Fort  Augusta 4_' i 

Remains  of  Old  Magazine  at  Fort  Augusta 429 

House  of  Conrad  Weiser,  Reading 433 

George  1 1 — Portrait 437 

Chimney  Rocks 441 

Moravian   Ba ke  Oven 448 

First  American  Home  of  John  James  Audubon 453 

Henry  Bouquet — Portrait  and  Signature 456 

Old  Block  House  at  Pittsburgh 461 

Plan  of  Lots  in  Pittsburgh,  1764 .  467 

Fort  Pitt,   1766 472 

Old  Sun  Dial  from  Fort  Pitt 476 

Iiirthi'lace  of  Robert  Fulton 481 

John  Harris  Mansion 485 

William  Allen — Portrait 489 

Pennsylvania-Maryland  Five  AIile  Stone,  Maryland  Side 493 

Pennsylvania-Maryland  Five  ]\Iile  Stone,  Pennsylvania  Side 497 

Heckewelder  House,  Bradford  County 501 

John  Penn — Portrait 505 

Forty    I""ort 512 

Stewart's  Block  House 517 

John  Wilkes — Portrait 521 

Isaac    Barre — Portrait 525 

I  nterior  of  Fort  Brow  n 529 

Map  of    Frontier    Forts    between    the    Dklawaki:   and    Susquehanna 

Rivers    33^ 

John    Morgan — Portrait 537 

Fam iLY  Flax  H ackels 545 

Old  Foot  Warmer 552 

Family  Bread  Basket  used  by  German  Settlers 557 

Upright   Spinning   Wheei 561 

Old-Fashioned  German  Shaving  Dish 568 

xiv 


Pennsylvania 

Colonial    and    F  e  d  e  r  a  I 


CHAPTER  1 
THE   INDIANS   OF   PENNSYLVANIA 

THE  stream  of  American  history  flows  from  a  source  com- 
paratively near — the  arrival  here  of  white  men  from 
Europe.  In  the  year  when  Elizabeth  of  England  died, 
1603,  no  white  man,  it  is  safe  to  say,  had  ever  seen  the  region 
which  we  call  Pennsylvania.  Its  vast  woods,  its  great  rivers, 
its  unique  mineral  treasures,  were  then  as  unknown  to  the  wisest 
geographer  of  the  Old  World  as  were  the  deepest  jungles  of 
Africa,  or  the  farthest  ice-floes  of  the  polar  seas. 

The  opening  years  of  the  Seventeenth  Century  become  thus 
the  initial  period  for  our  narrative.  The  arrival  of  the  white 
men,  and  the  human  experiences  growing  out  of  that  epochal 
event,  form  the  story  which  we  have  to  tell. 

Yet  Pennsylvania  had  its  own  inhabitants,  a  people  who  pos- 
sessed no  doubt  a  long  and  romantic  history,  when  the  ships  of 
the  white  men  came.  They  were  tribes  of  that  red  race  whom, 
since  the  voyages  of  Columbus,  and  because  of  his  geographical 
error,  we  have  called  Indians.  Their  presence  and  influence  form 
the  background  to  all  American  history,  and  we  must  pause  to 
consider  them  before  we  can  intelligently  proceed.  We  have 
some  sources  of  knowledge  concerning  them  as  they  appeared 
when  the  white  men  came :  their  own  traditions,  legends,  and 
folk-lore;  evidence  afforded  by  their  arms,  implements,  and  uten- 
sils :  descriptions  of  them  by  the  white  people  who  saw  them  early: 
and  finally  studv  of  them  under  the  light  which  we  have  gained 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

concerning  the  life  of  similar  primitive  peoples  throughout  the 
world.  Yet  with  the  best  efforts  to  utilize  all  these  sources  our 
knowledge  of  the  Indians  remains  meagre  and  unsatisf3^ing. 

It  may  be  said,  in  brief,  that  the  whole  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the 
year  1600,  was  the  Indians'  land.  While  they  did  not  occupy  it, 
in  a  strict  sense  of  the  word,  they  enjoyed  its  complete  possession 
in  the  manner  suited  to  their  way  of  life;  they  hunted  in  the 
forests,  fished  in  the  streams,  planted  their  little  crops  in  the  open 
spaces,  and  appropriated  to  their  use  whatever  it  might  yield  them 
of  air  to  breathe,  water  to  drink,  food  and  shelter,  enjoyment  and 
pleasure,  warfare  and  spoil.  How  many  there  were  of  them  is 
wholly  left  to  conjecture.  It  is  agreed  that  they  were  few.  A 
century  later,  an  estimate  attributed  to  William  Penn  supposed 
there  were  "ten  Indian  Nations"  in  the  province,  with  "about  six 
thousand"  souls  belonging  to  them.  But  this  estimate  seems  too 
low  for  the  end  of  the  Seventeenth  Century,  and  much  too  low 
for  its  beginning.  The  original  printing  of  the  estimate  is  in 
Oldmixon's  "British  Empire  in  America,"  published  in  1701. 

Who  then  were  these  Indians  of  Pennsylvania?  What  was 
their  origin  ?  \\' hence  did  they  come?  These  are  questions  most 
suitable  for  the  archaeologist  and  philologist.  If  we  judge  b\'  the 
evidence  of  language,  the  Indians  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania  would 
seem  to  have  come  from  a  parent  stock  in  the  far  northeast,  beyond 
the  St.  Lawrence  ri\er.  Yet  they  themselves  preserved  a  tradi- 
tion, which  Heckewelder,  the  pious  Moravian  missionary,  who 
labored  amongst  them  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  has  handed 
down  to  us.  that  thev  came  from  the  distant  west,  a  region  far 
beyond  the  Mississippi,  and  had  reached  the  Delaware  after  a 
migration  occupying  many  years,  or  even  centuries,  in  the  course 
of  which,  as  they  passed  through  what  are  now  the  States  of  the 
Ohio  Valley,  they  fought  with  and  overcame  tribes  of  that  region. 
though  these  had  desperately  defended  themselves  in  fortified 
places.  This  tradition  is  worthy  of  attention,  but  it  is  not  a 
chapter  of  history. 


The   Indians 

In  the  concise  re\iew  that  must  he  here  given  we  shall 
consider  first  the  Indians  (;f  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  describing 
them  as  they  probabl\-  were  when  the  white  men  settled  on  the 
Delaware,  in  the  first  half  of  the  Seventeenth  Century.  These 
Indians  were  a  simple  and  primitive  people,  not  "savage"  as  to 
disposition,  nor  in  the  stage  of  development  properly  designated 
by  that  word.  They  had  long  possessed  and  used  fire.  They 
subsisted  only  in  part  by  the  chase  and  the  fishery ;  they  depended 
in  part  for  their  food  on  a  systematic  tillage  of  the  soil.  They 
had  developed  some  arts  of  manufacture.  IMieir  arms  and  imple- 
ments were  mostly  of  the  Stone  Age.  but  they  had  begun  to 
emerge  from  it.  They  had  a  political  system  well  settled  and 
efifective.  Their  social  usages  were  in  many  particulars  well 
developed  and  strictly  observed.  They  comprehended  and  in  a 
degree  regarded  moral  obligations,  and  their  ideas  of  religion 
exhibited  a  glimmering  of  the  highest  truth. 

Along  the  Delaware  river,  on  both  sides,  from  the  Xew 
York  line — and  beyond — down  to  the  sea,  these  Indians,  after- 
wards called  Delawares.  called  themselves  Lcn-a-pc  or  Lcnni 
Lcn-a-pc.  By  language,  and  presumably  by  blood,  they  were 
members  of  a  great  Indian  family,  the  Algonkian.  the  most  exten- 
sive in  North  America.  Tribes  of  this  widespread  family 
"stretched  from  Labrador  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  from  the 
Churchill  river  of  Hudson  Bay  to  Pamlico  Sound  in  North  Caro- 
lina." Though  thus  widely  scattered,  resemblances  of  language 
survived,  and  traditions  of  relationship  were  cherished  among 
them  all.  Many  of  the  Indian  trilies  with  whom  the  history  of 
the  American  people  is  most  associated,  many  whose  vigor  and 
persistencv  of  life  have  made  them  most  familiar  in  our  annals, 
are  or  were  of  this  extensive  grou|) — Pequots  and  Narragansetts 
of  New  England.  Mohegans  of  New  York.  Powhatans  of  \'ir- 
ginia.  Shawnees.  Miamis.  Chippcwas.  Ottawas  of  the  interior,  and 
Arapahoes.  Cheyennes.  Blackfeet.  and  others  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley  and  Far  West.     It  was  the  Algonkian  Indians  whom  the 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

English-speaking  explorers,  landing  on  the  Atlantic  Coast  in  Caro- 
lina and  northward,  first  encountered,  and  who  received  them 
almost  uniformly  in  peace.  Massasoit,  the  lifelong  friend  of  the 
Plymouth   Pilgrims;  his  son   Philip,   famous   for  his  brave  but 


#■ 


./' 


Rock  Carving  of  the  Turtle  Clan  of  the  Irotiuois  Indians 

The    rock    is    in  the    bed    of   the    Ohio    river    at 

Smith's     Ferry.  Photographed     especially     for 

this    work    from  a    cast    in    Carnegie    Museum, 
Pittsburgh 

ineffectual  resistance  to  white  encroachment ;  Powhatan,  forever 
conspicuous  in  the  Virginia  chronicle ;  and  Pontiac  and  Tecumseh, 
who  in  the  western  country  later  struggled  and  failed  like  Philip 
to  stem  the  white  tide,  were  all  Algonkian  chiefs. 

It  is  conceded  that  in  this  xA.lgonkian  family  the  Lenape  of  the 
Delaware  region  were  representatives  of  a  parent  stock.  In  the 
traditions  common  to  all  the  tribes  special  dignity  and  authority 

4 


The  Indians 

were  assigned  them.  Forty  tribes,  it  is  said,  looked  up  to  them 
with  respect,  and  in  the  Algonkian  great  councils — if  such  were 
ever  held — they  took  first  place  as  the  "Grandfathers"  of  the  race, 
while  the  others  were  catled  by  them  "children."  "nephews," 
"grandchildren."  That  this  precedence  of  the  Lenape  had  any 
importance  within  the  period  of  the  white  settlement  can  hardly 
be  said.  It  seems  true  that  the  Algonkian  tribes  refrained  from 
war  with  one  another,  and  some  writers  speak  of  a  "Lenape  Con- 
federacy." 

The  Lenape  of  the  Delaware  region  formed  three  sub-tribes. 
These  were  the  Miii-si,  people  of  the  stony  lands,  who  lived  in 
the  mountain  country,  from  about  the  Lehigh  ri\-er  northward 
into  New  York  and  New  Jersey;  the  U-na-i)ii,  down-river  people, 
whose  habitat  may  be  regarded  as  extending  from  the  Lehigh  to 
about  tlie  Delaware  State  line :  and  lastly  the  i'-)ui-lacli-tigo,  tide- 
water people,  or  people  living  near  the  sea,  who  occupied  the  land 
on  the  lower  reach  of  the  river,  and  on  the  bay.  How  far  each  of 
these  roamed  and  claimed  it  is  hard  to  say ;  the  Minsi  spread  into 
New  Jersey ;  the  Unami  had  an  uncertain  hold  beyond  the  Schuyl- 
kill, toward  the  watershed  of  streams  flowing  to  the  Susque- 
hanna ;  and  the  Unalachtigo  probably  occupied  most  of  the  east 
shore  of  the  Delaware  river,  within  the  present  State  of  Dela- 
ware. 

After  the  manner  general  if  not  uniform  among  the  North 
American  Indians,  each  of  these  sub-tribes  of  the  Lenape  had  its 
animal  type,  its  totem.  That  of  the  mountaineers  was  appro- 
priately the  Wolf,  the  central  sub-tribe  had  the  Turtle,  and  the 
Bay  dwellers  the  Turkey.  With  the  creatures  which  they  thus 
adopted  as  their  symbols  they  imagined  themselves  in  some  way 
connected  by  a  mystic  but  powerful  tie.  and  each  member  of  the 
totemic  fraternity  was  closely  bound  to  every  other  one.  But  to 
the  Turtle,  and  consequently  his  sub-tribe,  they  ascribed  the 
greatest  dignity,  for  they  shared  with  peoples  of  the  Old  World 
the  mvth  that  a  ereat  tortoise,  first  of  all  created  beings,  bore  the 


l\'iinsvlvania  Colonial   and    Federal 

earth  upon  its  back.  'J'lnis,  by  their  totem,  the  L'nanii  had  pre- 
cedence, and  in  time  of  peace  their  sachem,  or  chief,  wearing  a 
diamond-marked  wampum  belt,  was  chief  of  the  whole  tribe. 
That  the  Minsi  were  the  most  vigorous  and  warlike  of  the  Lenape 
is  indicated  by  many  evidences,  and  they  were  probably  the 
strongest  in  numbers.  From  their  holds  in  the  mountains  they 
reached  n(M-theastward  to  the  banks  of  the  Hudson  and  on  that 
ri\er  joined  hands  with  the  ^Mohegans,  another  tribe  of  the  Al- 
gonkian  family;  while  they  guarded,  also,  against  the  hostile 
approach  of  the  tribes  of  Central  Xew  York,  called  by  the  English 
the  Five  Nations,  and  by  the  Fr£nch  the  Iroquois.  These  tribes, 
tive  in  number  until  17 12,  we  shall  have  to  refer  to  many  times  and 
we  pause  here  to  speak  more  particularly  of  them.  They  were,  at 
the  time  the  white  men  came,  the  Caniengas.  usually  called  Mo- 
hawks (or  Maquas),  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  Cayugas  and  Senecas. 
They  belonged  to  a  family  distinct  in  language  from  theAlgonkian 
tribes.  Bv  the  genius  of  one  of  their  own  chiefs,  an  Onondaga, 
known  in  half-certain,  half-dubious,  traditions  as  Hiawatha,  they 
had  been  united  as  a  confederacy,  at  some  time  anterior  to  the 
period  we  now  describe.  They  were  a  vigorous,  energetic  and 
aggressive  people,  but  not  more  so  than  many  of  the  Algonkian 
tribes.  The  accident  of  contact  with  the  earliest  white  comers,  the 
French  and  the  Dutch,  and  consequently  the  earliest  possession 
of  tirearms.  started  them  on  a  career  which  influenced  for  tw-o 
hundred  years  the  course  of  history,  not  only  as  to  Pennsylvania 
and  New  York,  but  as  to  the  American  Union  itself.  About  1712 
they  received  from  North  Carolina  the  remnant  of  the  Tuscarora 
tribe,  w'hich  was  of  their  lingual  family,  and  became  thereafter 
the  Six  Nations.  In  these  pages  we  shall  speak  of  them  for  the 
present  as  the  Iroc[uois. 

The  political  system  of  the  Lenape.  while  it  implied  an  obedi- 
ence of  the  members  of  the  tribe  to  its  chief,  was  not  far  removed 
from  a  democracy.  Chief  and  tribe  were  alike  subject  to  long 
established  custom,  and  while  the  chieftainship  was  considered 

6 


The  Indians 

hereditary  in  certain  families,  the  in(hvi(kial  assigned  to  it  was 
subject  to  election  by  the  tribe.  That  such  a  system  should  have 
been  so  well  established,  and  should  have  served  so  fully  to  secure 
peace  and  order  within  a  large  tribe,  is  one  of  the  marvels  of  the 
Indian.  Throughout  the  country  the  wars  of  tribes  with  one 
another  were  common,  perhaps  almo.st  incessant,  but  internal 
feuds  and  bloodshed  were  rare.  The  Indian's  attachment  to  his 
own  tribe  was  unqualified  ;  such  enemies  as  he  had  must  be  of  some 
other  tribe.  "There  were  times,"  says  Parkman,  describing  In- 
dians of  Canada,  "when  savages  lived  together  in  thousands  with 
a  harmony  which  civilization  might  envy.*'  Penn,  writing  in 
1683.  his  letter  to  the  Free  Society  of  Traders,  said:  "Every 
king  hath  his  council;  and  that  consists  of  all  the  old  and  wise 
men.  .  .  Nothing  of  moment  is  undertaken,  be  it  war.  peace,  sell- 
ing of  land,  or  traffic,  without  advising  with  them,  and  which  is 
more  with  the  voung  men.  too.  It  is  admirable  to  consider  how 
powerful  the  kings  are.  and  yet  how  they  move  by  the  breath  of 
their  pe(jple." 

The  Lenape  could  not  have  been  a  large  tribe.  Within  the 
limits  of  Pennsylvania  they  numbered  perhaps  two  thousand  peo- 
ple. It  cannot  now  be  said  with  confidence  that  they  had  any 
central  and  fixed  "town."  They  had  places  to  which  they  re- 
sorted, such  as  rivers  or  creeks  in  which  they  fished;  moun- 
tains where  they  hunted  :  or  cleared  spaces  where  they  planted ; 
but  thev  had  no  buildings  more  sul)stantial  than  the  simple  hut.  or 
lodge,  commonly  known  to  the  whites  as  the  wif^zcaiii.  in  which 
they  sheltered  themselves.  Its  frame  was  formed  of  sapling  trees, 
and  was  covered  by  the  bark  of  larger  ones.  Each  hut  was  for 
a  single  family,  differing  in  this  respect  from  the  houses  of  the 
Iroquois,  which  were  communal,  each  one  acconmv^dating  se\eral 
families.  Sometimes  the  Lenape  huts  might  be  placed  in  groups, 
forming  a  village,  and  surrounded  by  a  palisade  of  driven  stakes, 
for  defense  against  enemies,  but  all  such  frail  structures  decayed 
and  disa])pearo<l  almost  as  soon  as  their  occujjants  quitted  them. 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

The  men  were  hunters  and  fishermen  in  times  of  peace,  war- 
riors when  peace  failed.  Wild  animals  abounded  in  the  far- 
stretching  woods,  and  in  the  streams  there  were  swarms  of  fish. 
The  reports  of  the  white  explorers,  as  they  sailed  up  the  Delaware, 
throuo-h  the  country  of  the  Lenape.  glow  with  descriptions  of  the 


Algonkian  Rock  Pictures,  Safe  Harbor 

Reproduced  especially  for  this  work  from  Unit- 
ed States  government  reports 

abundant  wild  life  to  be  seen  on  every  hand.  When  the  white 
men  came  the  "fur  trade"  was  their  first  object,  and  the  Indians 
brought  them  skins  of  many  sorts — bear,  deer,  sable,  beaver,  otter, 
fox,  wild-cat,  lynx,  raccoon,  mink,  musk-rat,  and  others.  These 
animals  had  been  caught  in  traps,  or  shot  with  bow  and  arrow,  or 
perhaps  run  down  by  dogs,  or  killed  with  a  spear  or  a  club.  Fish 
were  speared  in  shallow  places,  or  driven  into  pounds  formed  of 
brush,  or  caught  with  a  simple  hook  and  line. 

8 


The  Indians 

Under  the  Indian  system  there  was,  of  course,  no  pri\ate 
ownership  of  land.  Its  use,  hke  its  possession,  was  in  common. 
A  family  had  a  right  of  temporary  occupancy,  but  nothing  more. 
Near  their  villages,  in  the  alluvial  bottom  lands,  or  in  spaces  in 
the  w'oods  cleared  by  fire,  the  women  raised  the  family  crops, 
planting  the  maize,  our  "Indian  corn."  when  "the  oak  leaf  was 
the  size  of  a  squirrel's  ear,"  and  raising  also  beans,  pumpkins,  and 
a  few  other  vegetables,  including  probably  the  sweet  potato.  In 
1679,  Bankers  and  Sluyter,  the  "Labadists."  traveling  through 
New  Jersey,  and  fed  by  the  Indians  (probably  Lenape),  were  re- 
galed upon  boiled  beans,  served  in  a  calabash,  "cooked  without 
salt  or  grease,"  and  "pounded  maize,  kneaded  into  bread,  and 
baked  under  the  ashes."  Zeisberger  describes  the  w'omen  as  go- 
ing into  the  woods  in  February  to  boil  the  maple  sap.  and  make 
sugar,  and  this  process  is  declared  by  some  writers  to  be  an  Indian 
discovery.  The  Indians  quickly  adopted  the  raising  of  fruit 
from  the  white  settlers'  example,  and  their  "orchards"  are  often 
spoken  of. 

\\'e  are  to  remember,  when  we  consider  their  limited  agricul- 
ture and  their  habitual  residence  along  the  streams,  that  Pennsyl- 
vania, from  the  Delaware  to  Lake  Erie,  was  then  an  unbroken 
forest.  Less  than  one-tenth  of  its  surface,  it  may  be  .«;aid.  was 
treeless  land.  To  the  exj)lorer  who  passed  along  its  eastern  side 
the  trees  stood  often  at  the  water's  edge,  and  when  he  landed  he 
found  them  rising  everywhere  liefore  him.  Then  and  for  a 
century  after,  among  the  whites,  to  go  inland  was  "going  into  tiie 
woods,"  and  as  late  as  the  Revolution  an  emigrant  moving  west- 
ward, if  only  a  hundred  miles,  was  commonly  spoken  of  as  "gone 
to  the  backwoods." 

The  Indians  had  no  cutting  implements  of  metal.  They  were 
not  workers  of  metal.  A  few  copper  articles  thc\'  seem  to  ha\e 
had,  but  these  were  mostly  ornaments,  and  the  material  of  which 
they  were  wrought  may  have  been  "nati\e"  or  pure  copper.  ]->ro- 
cured  from  surface  deposit  or  shallow  mine,  or  possibly  brought 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

fi'uni  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior.  To  reduce  ores,  to  extract  the 
metal,  and  work  it  by  fire  and  hamnier,  were  processes  Ijeyond 
their  knowledge. 

That  the  women  shciuld  be  assigned  the  labors  in  the  field,  as 
well  as  those  within  the  lodge,  was  not  strange.  It  was  the  ordi- 
nary usage  of  Indian  life,  and  common  indeed  among  such  peoples 
the  world  over.  The  exertions  of  the  men  were  often  far  more 
arduous.  For  the  chase,  and  still  more  for  the  war.  they  needed 
not  only  strength,  but  agility.  Labor  which  would  impair  their 
swiftness  of  movement  would  be  fatal.  The  boys  were  trained 
from  their  earliest  years  to  run.  to  jumj).  to  fish,  and  to  shoot;  to 
endure  hardships,  to  suffer  hunger  and  thirst  in  silence. 

Living  thus  in  closest  contact  with  Nature,  and  drawing  sub- 
sistence from  her.  sometimes  with  greatest  ease,  sometimes  with 
infinite  difficulty,  the  Indian's  faculties  of  observation  were  devel- 
oped to  a  wonderful  keenness.  Signs  of  life  and  movement  in 
forest  or  field,  which  a  "civilized"  man  would  not  note,  appeared 
to  him  plain.  The  habits  of  all  wild  creatures,  the  phenomena  of 
the  weather,  the  birth,  growth,  and  decay  of  vegetation,  the 
aspects  of  nature  in  the  atmosphere  and  the  sky,  were  familiar  to 
him  in  the  minutest  detail,  and  thus  for  the  purposes  of  the  life  he 
led  he  had  a  real  education.  Observing  that  the  seasons  recurred 
regularly,  that  seed-time  and  harvest,  the  budding  and  the  fall  of 
the  leaf,  came  with  uniform  intervals,  he  made  his  own  year,  and 
divided  it  by  its  thirteen  moons.  Thus  he  could  count  his  own 
age.  and  assign  to  events  of  the  past  their  due  order. 

But  among  the  Lenape  the  chronicle  of  events  w^as  practically 
an  engraving  on  the  tablets  of  the  mind,  and  that  only.  If  we 
except  the  ''notched  sticks"  of  record,  which  some  of  the  Algon- 
kian  tribes  employed,  and  which  may  have  been  used  by  the 
Lenape.  it  may  be  sweepingly  said  that  they  made  no  records, 
erected  no  monuments,  carved  no  stones.  The  traditions  they 
cherished,  the  laws  they  enacted,  the  usages  they  set  uy>.  all  were 
oral,  and  were  handed  down  by  word  of  mouth. 

lO 


The  Indians 

It  has  cdready  heeii  said  thai  these  hi(hans  hacl  practically  no 
metal  im])lements  or  arms.  St«»ne  was  their  main  material.  It 
provided  the  axe.  the  hammer,  the  pestle — sometimes  also  the 
mortar — for  poundings  their  corn  into  meal :  the  knife,  the  "skin- 
ner" for  stripping-  off  the  skins  of  a  slain  animal,  a  line  and  a 
spade  for  the  field,  and  a  score  of  other  articles  in  c<jmmon  use. 
It  furnished  the  pipe  in  which  they  smoked  their  tobacco,  quoits 
for  their  games,  and  e\en  ornaments  for  their  ])ersons.  Vor  their 
weapons  it  supplied  arrow-heads  and  spear-heads,  and  the  "toma- 
hawk" or  battle-axe.  It  is  these  stone  ol)jects.  surviving  the  tooth 
of  time,  which  have  remained  as  the  most  notable  evidences  of  the 
Indian  period  in  Pennsylvania. 

The  Lenapc  had,  however,  some  other  arts  of  manufacture. 
They  were  skilled  in  dressing  the  skins  of  animals,  especially  the 
deer.  They  made  earthenware  articles,  baking  them  hard  and 
black.  Soapstone  they  hollowed  out  for  pots  and  pans,  while 
other  household  vessels  were  made  of  wood.  The  large  wild 
gourd,  the  calabash,  one  of  the  few  contributions  to  the  use  of  the 
white  people,  served  them  as  bucket  and  dipper.  The  women 
wove  mats  from  the  soft  and  tough  inner  bark  of  trees,  and  made 
ornamental  garments  from  the  plumage  of  binls.  Strings  oi 
beads,  ''wampum,"  which  were  used  to  decorate  "belts"  of  cere- 
mony, and  in  a  limited  way  served  as  money,  were  usually  made 
of  bits  of  shells,  from  the  shore  of  the  sea.  For  flye-stufifs  they 
had  the  wild  berries,  the  bark  of  trees,  and  plants  like  the  sumac, 
while  colored  clays  furnished  them  a  coarse  but  effective  paint. 

One  fact  not  yet  considered  influenced  the  life  of  the  Indians 
of  Pennsylvania  to  a  degree  which  we  can  understand  only  with 
an  effort.  Thev  had,  with  tlie  sole  exception  of  the  dog,  a  half- 
wild  creature,  no  domestic  animal.  The  horse  they  had  never 
seen — nor  the  cow.  Thc\'  had  not  the  llama  in'  S<~)inh  America, 
the  camel,  the  elephant,  or  .any  other  ni  the  beasts  of  burden  so 
useful  in  the  Old  World.  They  had  therefore  no  means  of  move- 
ment or  trans])ortation  but   those  which  their  own  bodily  vigor 

II 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

supplied.  On  land  they  walked  or  ran,  on  the  water  they  paddled 
their  canoes.  By  their  marches  on  the  chase  or  in  w-ar  they  had 
worn  paths,  or  "trails."  which  may  yet  be  traced,  here  and  there, 
over  hill  and  mountain ;  but  it  is  most  probable  that,  living  near 
many  streams  of  w^ater,  they  made  large  use  of  these  as  highways 
of  travel.  Theircanoes  may  sometimes  have  been  made  of  bark,  but 
this  seems  uncertain ;  as  a  rule,  the  Lenape's  canoe  must  have  been 
a  hollow  log.  By  diligent  labor  with  fire  and  his  stone  axe  he 
felled  a  tree,  and  by  the  same  means  cut  ofif  a  proper  length,  hol- 
lowed it  out  and  shaped  it.  This  was  the  "dug-out,"  the  "pirogue," 
in  which  the  earliest  white  explorers  of  the  Delaw^are  found  the 
Indians  who  lived  on  its  banks  coming  to  meet  their  ships. 

The  Lenape  were  straight,  of  middle  height,  their  color  a 
reddish  browai.  Penn  speaks  of  them  as  "generally  tall,  straight, 
well  built,  and  of  singular  proportion ;  they  tread  strong  and 
clever,  and  mostly  walk  with  a  lofty  chin."  Their  complexion 
he  called  "black,"  but  said  it  was  artificially  produced  by  the  free 
use  of  bear-grease,  and  exposure  to  sun  and  weather.^  They 
married  young,  the  men,  he  says,  usually  at  seventeen,  the  women 
at  thirteen  or  fourteen.  But  their  families  were  seldom  large,  and 
the  increase  of  the  tribe  must  have  been  slow.  Polygamy  existed 
but  was  not  common.  Marriage  might  or  might  not  be  a  perma- 
nent relation ;  it  was  terminable  by  the  husband  at  w'ill,  and  the 
wife,  also,  Heckewelder  says,  might  leave  the  husband.  It  is 
probable,  however,  that  such  separations  were  the  exception  rather 
than  the  rule.  In  one  respect  marriages  were  strictly  controlled 
by  the  tribal  law  :  it  was  required  that  a  man  of  one  sub-tribe  must 
marry  a  woman  of  one  of  the  others.  A  man  of  the  Turkey  sub- 
tribe,  for  example,  chose  a  wife  from  the  Turtle  or  the  Wolf.  So, 
too,  the  descent  of  sub-tribal  membership,  of  property,  and  of 
honors,  w^as  through  the  female  line.     The  child's  tot  on  was  that 

'This  is  also  the  statement  of  Pastorius,  rubbed  them  with  fat,  and  exposed  them  to 
the  Germantown  settler  (1685):  "The  chil-  the  hot  sun,  to  make  them  brown."  (Pen- 
dren   were   white   enough,   but   their   parents        .lypacker's    "Germantown,"    235.) 

12 


The   Indians 

of  its  mother.  A  cliief  could  not  be  succeeded,  therefore,  by  his 
son.  though  he  might  be  by  his  brother,  (jr  by  the  son  of  a  sister, 
or  son  of  some  other  female  of  his  own  blood  and  sub-tril)e. 

It  has  been  said,  earlier  in  this  review,  that  the  In<lians  had  a 
glimmering  perception  of  religious  truth.  They  believed  in  the 
existence  of  Manitou.  a  Great  Spirit,  "the  creator  and  preserver 
of  heaven  and   earth."     They  conceiverl   of  .i   future  existence. 


Figures  on   "Indiaii  (iud"   Ruck 

There  was  a  general  belief  in  a  soul,  a  spiritual  and  unmaterial 
part  of  man.  They  did  not  worship  idols,  though  they  gave 
superstitious  reverence  to  light,  especially  as  manifested  in  fire 
and  the  sun.  and  to  the  four  winds,  as  typical  of  the  car<linal 
points,  and  as  rain-bringers.  They  conceived  that  the  supreme 
Manitou  had  many  inferior  manitous.  to  whom  he  had  committed 
rule  and  control  over  special  conditions  and  circumstances,  and 
they  therefore  desired  to  conciliate  these,  by  sacrifices,  dances. 
fasts,  etc.  They  did  not  fear  a  Devil.  Heckewelder  says,  being 
confident  of  safetv  so  long  as  they  believed  they  had  the  approval 
of  the  Great  Si)irit.  and  he  declares  indeed,  as  do  no  other  author- 

'3 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   ami   Federal 

ities,  that  the  idea  of  an  evil  spirit,  or  de\il,  was  unknown  to  them 
until  they  received  it  from  the  whites.  Their  dances,  songs,  and 
sacrifices  were  significant  as  prayer,  as  propitiation,  and  as  thanks- 
giving. No  great  undertaking  was  begun  without  such  cere- 
mony, and  it  w-as  e(|uall\  ol)Hgatory  if  the  enterprise  had  success- 
fully ended.  The  song  and  dance  were,  in  fact,  characteristic 
Indian  performances.  Nor  was  the  festival  less  so.  "In  the  fall 
when  the  corn  cometh  in,"  Penn  says,  "they  begin  to  feast  one 
another.  There  have  been  two  great  festivals  already" — his 
letter  is  dated  August  i6 — "to  which  all  come  that  will.'' 

Of  the  moral  qualities  of  the  Indians  it  is  difficult  to  form  a 
fair  judgment  for  want  of  an  accepted  standard.  If  we  judge 
them  by  the  highest  wdiite  ideals  of  a  later  day,  to  which  few  white 
men — if  any — ever  attain,  they  would  be  found  very  deficient. 
If  W'C  compare  them  to  other  primitive  peoples,  in  the  stage  of 
social  development  which  they  had  reached,  they  bear  the  com- 
parison w-ell.  But  the  whole  question  of  their  morals,  and  their 
merits,  then  and  since,  has  been  confused  by  vehement  differences 
of  opinion  concerning  them.  To  some  they  w^ere  not  merely 
"savages,"  but  worse — "heathen"  and  "vermin."  whom  it  was  not 
only  no  crime  but  rather  a  duty  to  exterminate.  In  such  a  view 
they  could  not  justify  their  right  of  existence,  and  for  the  white 
men  to  end  it.  by  whatever  means,  was  a  praiseworthy  act.  On 
the  other  hand,  they  have  had  warm  defenders  and  even  enthusias- 
tic eulogists.  William  Penn  saw  them  with  a  favorable  eye. 
The  pioneer  settlers  of  Pennsylvania,  practically  without  excep- 
tion, were  their  friends.  The  missionaries  who  labored  amongst 
them,  the  Moravians  especially,  became  warmly  attached  to  them. 
So  much  depends,  in  fact,  upon  the  point  of  view  concerning  the 
Indians  that  in  a  relation  of  the  story  of  Pennsylvania's  life  during 
the  colonial  period  we  must  be  on  our  guard  at  every  point  lest 
partisanship  for  or  against  them  influence  the  account. 

Some  facts  concerning  the  Lenape  are  not  open  to  dispute. 
Like  Indians  generally,  they  had  remarkable  self-control  and  forti- 

14 


The  Indians 

tude.  'J'liey  had  great  cn<lurance;  they  sjjared  themselves  no 
physical  effort  when  an  ohject  important  u>  them  was  in  view. 
They  were  not  treacherous,  in  the  prcjper  sense  of  the  word;  on 
the  contrary  they  were  remarkably  loyal  in  friendships,  and  faith- 
ful to  their  agreements.'  They  received  the  white  men  in  Penn- 
sylvania kindly  and  with  little  a|)i)earance  of  suspicion.  In 
numerous  cases  they  furnished  food  which  saved  the  settlers  from 
destitution.  "In  liberality  they  excel."  wrote  Penn.  and  this  was 
a  marked  characteristic.  It  v.as  accompanied  by  and  indeed  may 
be  said  to  have  partly  caused  extreme  improvidence.  Xot  enough 
store  of  food  was  laid  up  for  winter ;  not  enough  effort  was  made 
to  provide  for  to-morrow;  in  consequence  the  Indians  were  often 
at  starvation's  door. 

In  estimating  their  moral  condition  one  fact  stands  out. 
Though  they  often  ate  gluttonously  when  food  was  plenty  they  had 
no  intoxicating  drink.  It  seems  plain  that  they  knew  not  how  to 
make  any.  No  process,  not  even  the  simplest,  of  either  fermen- 
tation or  distillation  was  employed  by  them.  The  narcotic  tc)- 
bacco,  which  they  smoked  in  pipes  of  clay,  or  stone,  possibly  also 
of  copper,  was  their  nearest  approach  to  stimulant  or  intoxicant. 
It  w^as  reserved  for  the  white  men  to  bring  them  the  curse  of 
drink.  Heckewelder  records  the  Indian  tradition  of  the  first 
appearance  of  the  white  men  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson,  when 
almost  at  once  they  offered  the  Mohegans  drams  of  rum.  and  the 
intoxication  that  followed  gave  its  enduring  name.  Manhattan — 
the  island  where  zve  all  got  drunk — to  the  place.  The  Dutch. 
from  the  first,  on  both  the  Delaware  and  the  Hudson,  supjilied  the 
Indians  with  drink,  and  the  Swedes  and  English,  who  followed. 

'Francis  Hanicl  Pastorius,  of  German-  instead  an  eagle,  and  insisted  upon  it  that 
town,  already  cited  (foot-note,  ante),  says.  it  was  a  turkey.  But  I  showed  him  that  I 
writing  in  1695,  of  the  Indians  whom  he  knew  very  well  the  difference  l)ctwccn  the 
had  seen:  "They  arc  entirely  candid,  keep  two  birds.  Then  he  said  to  a  Swede  stand- 
to  their  promises,  and  deceive  and  mislead  ing  by  that  he  had  not  supposed  that  a  G«r- 
nobody."  He  tells,  however,  this  story:  man  so  lately  arrived  would  know  these 
"A  very  cunning  savage  came  to  me  one  birds  apart."  (Pcnnypacker's  German- 
day,  and  offered  to  bring  nic  a  turkey  hen  town."  p.  238.) 
for    a    certain    price.      Hut    he    brought    me 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

(lid  the  same.  Kalm,  the  Swedish  writer,  said  of  the  Lenape  of 
Xew  Jersey  that  while  the  small-pox  had  destroyed  many, 
"brandy  had  killed  most"  of  them.  Penn,  in  1683,  described 
graphically  the  injury  already  done.  The  Indians  had  become, 
he  says,  "great  lovers  of  strong  liquors,  rum  especially,"  and  for 
it  they  gave  the  richest  of  their  skins  and  furs.  ''One  of  the  most 
wretched  spectacles  in  the  world"  they  were  when  drunk.  This 
remained  a  sadly  familiar  description.  To  the  end  of  their  his- 
tory in  Pennsylvania  it  w^as  the  same;  the  tempting  and  terrible 
"fire-water"  wrought  upon  them  every  misery  which  humankind 
can  suffer,  and  stripping  them  of  self-command,  vigor,  and  judg- 
ment, lost  them  at  last  the  land  they  had  called  their  own. 

We  may  now  consider  that  these  details  have  fairly  described 
the  Indians  of  the  Delaw'are  region,  at  the  opening  of  the  historic 
period.  It  may  be  at  once  added  that  much  of  the  description 
would  apply  to  other  Indians  of  Pennsylvania.  But  while  our 
knowledge  of  the  Lenape,  at  the  time  the  wdiite  men  came,  is 
limited,  and  must  be  pieced  out  by  observations  made  in  later 
times,  as  of  William  Penn  seventy-five  years  after,  and  of  the 
missionary  Heckewelder  in  the  following  century,  our  knowledge 
of  other  Indian  tribes  within  the  limits  of  the  present  State,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  Seventeenth  Century,  is  still  more  meagre.  We 
have  little  more  than  a  few  names,  some  of  them  spelled  many 
ways  and  unpronounceable,  a  few  traditions,  and  a  variety  of  dis- 
puted conclusions.  We  must  therefore  content  ourselves  with  a 
brief  survey,  qualified  by  many  uncertainties. 

One  general  statement  may  be  safely  made  concerning  the 
Indians  of  the  interior,  in  the  valley  of  the  Susquehanna  and  its 
three  great  branches,  from  Chesapeake  Bay  to  the  river's  remotest 
springs ;  it  is  that  none  of  them  was  of  Algonkian  stock,  and  that 
all  were  sometimes  at  war  wdth,  and  ultimately  were  conquered  by, 
the  Iroquois  of  New  York.  The  heads  of  the  Susquehanna  river 
stretch  far  up  into  the  Iroquois  country,  and  securing  firearms 
promptly  from  the  whites,  those  fierce  and  energetic  confederates 

16 


The  Indians 

descended  upon  the  convenient  water  ways,  and  were  more  than  a 
match  for  any  antagonist  they  found  on  the  lower  reaches  of  the 
stream.  The  whole  interior  of  Pennsylvania,  therefore,  became 
by  the  close  of  the  Seventeenth  Century  an  appanage  of  the 
Iroquois. 

On  the  Susquehanna,  south  of  the  Juniata  and  north  of  the 
Chesapeake,  at  the  time  the  white  men  came,  were  the  tribe  called 
by  the  English  of  Virginia  and  Maryland  Susquehannocks,  and 
by  the  French  Andastes.  Their  palisaded  town,  often  mentioned 
afterward  in  colonial  history,  was  apparently  within  the  present 
limits  of  Lancaster  county.  They  became  familiar  to  the  Sw'edes 
and  the  Dutch  as  the  Minquas.  this  designation  implying  not  alone 
bands  upon  the  Susquehanna  river  itself,  but  others  of  the  same 
tribe  who  occupied  streams  that  flow  into  that  river,  and  head  east- 
ward toward  the  Delaware.  The  Minquas  were  almost  habit- 
ual enemies  of  the  "river  Indians."  the  Lenape.  Their  parties 
coming  down  the  Christiana  gave  it  early  the  name  of  Minquas 
Kill.  The  Lenape  dolefully  related  to  the  white  settlers  the  mis- 
eries they  had  endured  at  the  hands  of  these  "black  Indians"  of 
the  interiorr 

Finally,  the  Susquehannocks.  or  Andastes.  fell  as  has  been 
intimated  before  the  arms  of  the  fierce  confederates  of  New  York, 
the  Iroquois.  From  about  1650.  for  some  time,  the  Mohawks 
were  at  war  with  them ;  later  the  Senecas  carried  on  this  warfare, 
and  about  1674  finally  overcame  and  scattered  them.  The  Sus- 
quehannocks from  that  time  disappear,  unless,  as  is  probable,  the 
small  band  of  Conestogas.  whose  dismal  fortunes  a  century  later 
we  shall  have  to  relate,  were  a  remnant  of  this  important  tribe. 
Other  tribes  or  bands  were  identified  then  and  later  with  the  lower 
Susquehanna;  Captain  Smith  heard  of  two.  whose  names  he  gives 
on  his  map.  but  which  have  now  no  significance  for  us;  and  in 
colonial  times  there  were  the  Conoys.  otherwise  Ganawese.  who 
have  been  identified  with  the  Piscataways  of  southern  Maryland, 
and  apparently  were  recent  immigrants  from  that  region. 

17 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

In  western  Pennsylvania,  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  was  undoubt- 
edlv  a  favorite  Indian  land.  Abundant  evidences  of  this  existed 
within  the  histcn'ic  period.  That  ])icturesque  region,  with  its 
wooded  mountains,  its  swift  streams,  and  narrow  but  fertile 
N'allevs,  has,  or  had,  many  Indian  remains — not  only  the  ordinary 
stone  implements  and  weapons,  and  fragments  of  pottery,  but 
pictured  rocks,  defensive  works,  and  burial  mounds.  Who  the 
Indians  were  that  left  these  behind  is  wholly  unknown.  Those 
tribes  whom  the  whites  found  in  western  Pennsylvania,  when  the 
settlements  were  made  there,  a  full  century  after  the  white  occu- 
])ancv  of  the  Delaware  began,  were  themselves  new-comers,  frag- 
ments of  tribes  driven  thither,  as  the  Lenape  remnants  then  had 
been,  from  their  original  homes  in  regions  to  the  eastward.  We 
shall  see,  for  example,  that  our  earliest  precise  knowledge  of 
Indian  activities  on  the  Allegheny,  and  at  the  site  of  Pittsburg, 
goes  back  no  further  than  about  1720-25,  leaving  more  than  a 
century  for  imp(M"tant  changes  of  habitat  after  the  white  men 
came. 

Within  the  historic  period  there  was  a  tribe  upon  the  shores  of 
Lake  Erie,  their  habitat  extending,  it  is  probable,  within  the  north- 
western corner  of  Pennsylvania.  These  were  the  people  common- 
ly known  as  Eries,  or  Erigas,  or  as  the  French  called  them,  the  Cat 
tribe.  It  is  .said  that  they  were  of  the  Iroquois  family;  it  is  also 
said  tliat  they  were  not — that  they  were  Algonkians.  It  has  been 
suggested  that  they  were  identical  with  the  Shawanoes,  or  Shaw- 
nees,  whose  appearance  and  disappearance  in  widely-separated 
])laces  is  one  of  the  puzzles  in  the  history  of  the  American  Indian. 
They  are  described  as  a  large  tribe;  one  authority  assigns  them 
twenty-eight  villages,  with  "twelve  large  towns  or  forts,"  and  no 
less  than  12.000  members;  but  these  figures  certainly  are  exagger- 
ated. They  were,  French  accounts  say,  fierce  warriors,  who  used 
])oisoned  arrow's,  and  were  long  a  terror  to  the  neighboring  Iro- 
f|uois.  The  Jesuits,  who  generally  endeavored  to  convert  the 
tribes  on  the  Lakes,  had  no  mission  among  them,  though  they 

18 


The  Indians 

appear  to  have  been  visited  by  Mtienne  Brule.  Champlain's  advent- 
urous interpreter,  in  the  summer  of  1615.  The  Eries  also  were 
finally  victims  of  the  Iroquois.  In  the  year  1654.  earlier  than 
the  subjugation  of  the  Susquehannocks.  the  Iroquois  attacked 
them  furiously,  and  defeated  and  scattered  them,  and  the  historic 
account  concerniuj^  them  thus  ends. 

One  enduring  impress  left  upon  Pennsylvania  by  the  Indians 
and  perhaps  the  most  conspicuous  r)ne.  is  the  names  of  places,  and 
especially  of  flowing  waters.  \'ery  generally  the  names  which 
were  gi\en  and  which  remain  upon  the  ri\ers  and  creeks  are 
Indian.  The  Delaware  and  Schuylkill  are  conspicuous  exceptions. 
but  the  Lehigh,  the  Sus(|uehanna,  the  Juniata,  the  Ohio,  the  Alle- 
gheny, the  Monongahela,  the  Youghiogheny,  the  Kiskeminetas. 
theConemaugh.are  examples  sufficient  to  prove  the  rule.  Through- 
out the  State  scores  and  probably  hundreds  of  the  streams  have 
Indian  names,  some  of  them  strikingly  beautiful,  some  by  corrup- 
tion of  the  original  changed  to  forms  less  pleasing  and  hardly  to 
be  identified  as  Indian. 

Though  we  shall  be  anticipating  somewhat  the  course  of  our 
narrative,  and  taking  up  events  out  of  their  order,  it  seems  most 
convenient  to  consider  here  the  relation  borne  for  a  time,  after  the 
white  men  came,  by  the  Iroquois  Indians  of  Xew  York  to  the 
Lenape  Indians  on  the  Delaware.  It  is  unquestionable  that  dur- 
ing a  period  more  or  less  extended  the  former  claimed,  and  the 
latter,  or  some  of  them,  conceded,  a  certain  supremacy  of  the 
Iroquois.  But  the  exact  nature  of  this  supremacy,  the  time  when 
it  began,  the  manner  in  which  it  was  established,  and  the  extent 
of  its  exercise,  have  all  been  matters  of  dispute. 

We  shall  be  able  to  relieve  the  subject  of  i)art  of  its  liability 
to  confusion  by  considering  first  some  facts  which  are  not  dis- 
puted. In  the  first  place,  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  purchases 
of  the  land  on  the  Delaware  made  by  the  Dutch,  or  the  Swedes,  or 
by  William  Penn.  had  any  reference  to  the  Iroquois  tribes  of  Xew 
York.     These  dealings  were  with  local   Indian  chiefs,  and  with 

19 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 


them  only.     The  deeds  make  no  allusion  to  any  overlordship. 
From  the  Capes  northward  nearly  to  the  Lehio;h  river,  on  the 


Indian   Rock  Pictures,   Millshoro 


Reproduced  especially  for  this  work  from 
United   States  government  reports 


west  side,  and  upward  into  New  York  on  the  east  side,  the  lands 
were  sold  by  the  Lenape  as  an  independent  and  sovereign  people. 
In  the  valley  of  the  Susquehanna,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Lenape 
held  no  land.  It  was  held  by  their  enemies,  the  Susquehannocks 
on  the  lower  reaches  of  the  river,  and  the  Iroquois  on  the  upper, 


20 


The  Indians 

until  the  latter,  by  conquest,  acquired  entire  control.  The  Lenape 
had  possession,  it  would  apjjcar.  of  lands  on  the  western  affluents 
of  the  Schuylkill,  but  they  had  no  hold  upon  the  region  beyond 
the  watershed  where  they  rise. 

By  eliminating  thus  a  large  part  of  the  Delaware  valley  ami 
the  whole  of  the  Susquehanna  valley  from  consideration,  we  have 
narrowed  the  field  in  which  the  Jrofiuois  could  have  exercised  a 
supremacy  of  any  great  importance  oxer  the  Lenape.  We  ha^■e 
left  simply  the  mountain  country  of  the  Minsi,  from  the  Lehigh 
river  northward,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Delaware.  It  may  be 
said  in  a  word  that  the  Minsi.  while  they  remained  in  this  region, 
were  probably  subject,  for  some  fifty  years  or  more,  to  the  L'O- 
quois. 

So  early  as  1609,  when  Champlain,  in  July  of  that  year,  made 
his  famous  attack  upon  them,  on  the  site  of  Ticonderoga.  the 
Mohawks  of  New  York  learned  the  deadly  efifectiveness  of  fire- 
arms. His  match-locks  with  triggers — the  "arquebuses"  of  the 
French  armorers  of  that  time — spread  death  and  dismay  in  the 
ranks  of  the  Indians.  It  was  a  lesson  to  them,  terrible  and  effect- 
ive, and  needing  no  repetition.  From  that  day  they  endeavored 
to  procure  for  themselves  the  weapons  whose  destructive  power 
they  had  witnessed,  and  in  the  Dutch  records  there  is  abundant 
evidence  that  the  demand  thus  created  was  soon  supplied. 

The  encounter  at  Ticonderoga  coincided  almost  precisely  with 
Hudson's  discovery  of  the  great  river  that  bears  his  name.  The 
two  events  were  but  a  month  apart.  Trade  on  the  Hudson  river 
began  quickly,  and  filled  with  desire  for  Indian  furs,  the  Dutch 
traders  lost  no  time  in  supplying  the  giuis  and  powder  which 
would  secure  them.  By  1630,  when  traffic  on  the  Delaware  was 
hardly  yet  begun,  there  was  centered  at  Albany,  extending  into 
the  country  of  the  Iroquois,  a  l)arter  of  furs  and  firearms,  whose 
profits  brought  joy  to  the  white  trader,  and  which  equipped  the 
red  man  for  a  more  effective  warfare  than  he  ever  yet  iiad  waged. 
In  November,    1643,  the  Dutch  settlers  at  ^Lanhattan,  in  their 

21 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

pitiful  appeal  for  aid  to  the  authorities  in  iiollaiid,  said  the 
Indians  were  "well  provided  with  guns,  powder,  and  lead,  which 
they  purchased  for  beaver  from  the  private  traders  who  have  had 
for  a  long  time  free  range  here."  The  "Brief  Description  of  N'ew 
Netherland,"  written  1641-1646,  for  use  in  Holland,  says  the 
settlers  of  Rensselaerwyck  (on  the  Hudson  below  Albany),  at  an 
early  time,  "perceiving  that  the  IMohawks  were  craving  for  guns, 
which  some  of  them  had  already  received  from  the  English," 
made  large  profits  by  selling  more  of  them,  and  also  that  the  gain 
of  the  trade  being  noised  about,  traders  coming  over  from  Hol- 
land "brought  over  great  quantities,"  and  the  Mohawks,  "in  a 
short  time,"  were  seen  well  provided  "with  firelocks,  powder  and 
lead." 

It  was  not  only  the  whites  who  suffered,  in  conflicts  with  the 
Indians  thus  armed,  it  was  as  well  the  traditional  enemies  of  the 
Iroquois,  in  all  directions,  including  the  Mohegans  and  the  moun- 
tain bands  of  the  Lenape.  These  latter  demanded  arms  also,  but 
the  traders  at  Manhattan  were  more  strictly  controlled  than  those 
in  the  Mohawk  country,  and  could  not  supply  them.  The  Dutch 
law  forbade  the  sale  of  arms  to  the  Indians,  "on  pain  of  death," 
and  with  the  scandals  of  the  up-river  trade  discussed  hotly  at  Man- 
hattan, it  was  scarcely  possible  for  the  Mohegans  and  the  Minsi 
to  obtain  there  the  new  and  more  deadly  weapons. 

The  outcome  of  the  struggle  between  the  Iroquois  and  Lenape 
w^as  thus  plainly  to  be  foretold.  The  same  fierce  attacks  which 
the  Iroquois  had  made  upon  the  Eries  and  the  Susquehannocks 
they  made,  as  occasion  offered,  upon  the  Algonkian  tribes.  Yet 
the  subjugation  of  the  Minsi  must  have  proceeded  slowly.  It  is 
evident  that  man  for  man  they  and  the  Mohegans  were  not  inferior 
to  the  tribes  of  the  Iroquois.  As  late  as  1660,  at  Esopus,  far  up 
the  Hudson  toward  the  disputed  valley  through  which  the  Ron- 
dout  flows,  and  which  separates  the  Iroquois  and  Mohegan  strong- 
holds, chiefs  of  the  Algonkian  tribes  defied  a  ]\Iohawk  emissary, 
and  claimed  the  land  on  which  they  were  standing.     "This  is  not 

22 


The   Indians 

your  land!"  they  declared,  *'it  is  our  land!"  The  Minsi  and  the 
Senecas  were  at  war  in  that  year,  1660.  and  the  latter  earnestly 
appealed  to  Governor  Stuyvesant  for  a  supply  of  powder  and  hall, 
as  if  they  were  hard  pressed.  Three  years  later,  1663,  the  two 
tribes  were  still  fighting,  the  Minsi  aj)parently  with  fair  success. 

These  facts  narrow  the  time  in  which  Irof|uois  supremacy  over 
the  Minsi  could  have  been  exercised.  We  are  brought  down, 
seeking-  the  period  in  which  it  might  have  begun,  toward  the  date 
of  \\'illiam  Penn's  first  arrival.  It  seems  most  probable  that  it  was 
about  1680  when  tlic  Minsi  began  to  feel  themselves  not  a  match 
for  their  as.sailants.  In  1727,  at  an  Indian  treaty  in  Philadelphia, 
some  of  the  Iroquois  chiefs  alleged  that  William  Penn.  "when  he 
first  arrived,"  (  1682),  sent  to  them  "to  desire  them  to  sell  land  to 
him,"  and  said  also  that  later  he  spoke  to  them  in  terms  acknowl- 
edging their  control  of  the  Lenape.  These  assertions,  viewed  in 
the  light  of  what  we  know  otherwise,  may  have  a  basis  of  truth. 
It  is  certain  that  Penn  recognized  promptly  the  control  of  the 
Susquehanna  region  by  the  New  York  tribes,  and  it  may  also  lie 
that  he  perceived  besides  that  they  had  gained  a  hold  upon  the 
mountain  region  of  the  Minsi.  In  May.  1712,  Governor  Gook in 
met  Sassoonan,  and  other  Lenape  chiefs,  in  council  at  White- 
marsh  (near  Philadelphia),  and  the  latter  explained  that  they  had 
been  "many  years  ago  made  tributaries  to  the  ]\Iingoes  or  Five 
Nations."  and  were  now  about  to  send  them  tribute  belts  and  a 
calumet.  That  the  Minsi.  or  some  of  them,  would  still  have 
resisted,  later  than  t68o,  with  white  help,  appears  from  the  Penn- 
sylvania records.  In  1693,  Colonel  Fletcher,  acting  as  "royal" 
governor  of  Pennsylvania  during  Penn's  temporary  eclipse,  re- 
ceived in  council  at  Philadelphia,  "some  Indians  from  the  upper 
])art  of  the  river." — Lenape  certainly,  and  Minsi  most  likely. 
These  urged  upon  him  that  he  assist  them  in  a  war  with  the 
Seneca  tribe.  "Although  we  are  a  small  number  of  Indians." 
they  said,  "yet  we  are  men.  and  kw^w  fighting."  They  were,  no 
doubt,  the  remnant  of  an  "old  guard"  of  their  tribe,  who  recalled 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

the  time  before  the  Iroquois  triumph,  and  who  would  fain  have 
renewed  the  struggle,  with  Fletcher's  help — which  of  course  he 
refused  to  give. 

If  we  conclude,  then,  that  the  Iroquois  arms  prevailed  over 
those  of  the  Minsi  about  .1680,  or  between  that  and  1700,  we  shall 
find,  in  reference  to  land  treaties,  indications  of  a  deferential  re- 
gard for  the  Iroquois  manifested  by  the  Pennsylvania  colonial 
officials  from  about  1725  ;  we  shall  see  the  arrogant  claims  of  the 
Iroquois  to  an  absolute  overlordship  of  the  Minsi  country  by  1742  ; 
and  in  1756  we  shall  again  find  the  Lenape — called  then  uniformly 
Delawares — claiming  and  compelling  acknowledgment  of  their 
tribal  independence.  Thus  it  appears  that  the  supremacy  of  the 
New  York  confederates  may  have  lasted  from  1680  to  1756,  and 
that  it  was  confined,  as  to  lands,  to  the  Minsi  region.  It  is  thus 
evident  that  it  has  been  absurdly  overestimated  by  many  historical 
writers.  In  the  face  of  abundant  evidence  that  the  Lenape  were 
a  vigorous  people,  capable  of  strong  resentments  and  energetic  ac- 
tion, it  has  been  assumed  that  they  were  feeble  and  nerveless,  a  peo- 
ple unlike  other  Indians.  "A  long  and  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
Delaware  tribe,"  said  William  Henry  Harrison,  afterward  Presi- 
dent, "in  peace  and  in  war,  as  enemies  and  friends,  has  left  upon 
my  mind  the  most  favorable  impressions  of  their  character  for 
bravery,  generosity,  and  fidelity  to  their  engagements."  This  was 
testimony  rendered  them  when,  after  many  years  of  hard  fortune, 
their  tribe  was  shattered  and  disorganized ;  it  compels  us  to  believe 
that  in  an  earlier  time,  armed  with  similar  weapons  and  meeting 
upon  an  equal  field,  they  must  have  been  able  to  contend  success- 
fully with  their  Indian  enemies. 

We  are  to  speak  now  of  the  explanation  which  the  Lenape 
gave  of  the  subjection  to  which  they,  or  some  of  them,  were  re- 
duced. They  felt,  no  doubt,  that  it  was  degrading,  and,  as  has 
been  said,  when  the  day  of  opportunity  came  they  repudiated  it. 
In  the  period,  however,  when  it  was  not  to  be  denied,  they  ex- 
plained ingeniously,  and  perhaps  with  some  grains  of  truth,  how 

24 


The   Indians 

it  had  come  about.  By  the  persuasions  of  tlie  Iroquois,  they  said, 
they  had  consented  to  ser\e  as  a  tribe  of  peace,  renouncing  the 
practice  of  war.  The  Iroquois  had  come  to  them  with  honeyed 
persuasion,  and  had  urged  upon  them  that  the  dignity  of  ances- 
torship  which  they  held  among  the  tribes  of  the  Algonkian  family 
gave  them  great  influence,  and  that  it  would  be  rendering  a  valu- 
able and  honorable  service  to  the  whole  Indian  race  to  allay  the 


Spanish   Hill.   Bradford  County 

This  hill  is  in  the  shape  of  a  sugar  loaf;  the 
top  level  and  eleven  acres  In  extent.  Un- 
doubtedly it  was  one  of  the  palisaded  Indian 
towns  of  the  Andastes;  it  is  generally  supposed 
to  be  Carantouan,  mentioned  by  Eticnne  Brule, 
Champlain's  scout,  who  visited  it  in  1615,  and 
this  is  confirmed  by  Champlain's'  map,  as  well 
as  by  many  implements  of  Indian  manufacture 
found  on  it.  The  first  white  settlers  in  the 
locality  reported  that  the  Indians  called  this 
hill  "Hispan,"  but  there  is  only  faint  tradition 
to  justify  the  name.  Rochefoucauld,  a  French 
traveler,  in  1795,  says  the  whites  called  the  hill 
"Spanish  Ramparts,"  from  the  remains  of  en- 
trenchments; he  adds,  "one  perpendicular 
breastwork  yet  remains,  which  plainly  indicates 
that  a  parai>et  and  ditch  have  been  constructed 
here."      Photograph    by    Irving    K.    Park 

animosities  and  terminate  the  wars  which  consumed  their  strength 
and  actually  threatened  their  destruction.  T«»  these  persuasion'^, 
the  Lenape  said,  they  finally  yielded,  and  consented  to  assume  the 
position  of  a  "woman  nation."  exercising  an  influence  for  peace 
in  the  midst  of  the  others.  At  a  great  feast  the  Iroquois  messen- 
gers appeared  with  belts  of  wampum  to  seal  the  engagement,  and  a 
solemn  treaty  to  this  effect  was  made,  which  subsequently  the  Iro- 
quois perfidiously  employed  to  subjugate  and  oppress  the  Lenape. 

2s 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

The  kernel  of  truth  which  there  may  he  in  this  story  relates  to 
the  likelihood  that  diplomatic  persuasion  may  have  been  used 
upon  the  Minsi,  as  well  as  the  harsher  argument  of  force — that 
the  subjugation  may  have  been  accomplished  by  both  means,  em- 
ployed at  different  times.  Zeisberger,  the  Moravian,  tells  us  that 
he  himself  saw  the  belts  given  by  the  Iroquois  at  the  time  the 
treaty  was  made.  Heckewelder  insists  upon  the  verity  of  the 
account.  Much  learned  dispute  has  been  bestowed  upon  the 
subject.  But.  as  we  have  seen,  it  is  not  of  great  importance  as 
a  feature  of  the  case.  The  Iroquois  supremacy  over  the  Minsi, 
whether  acquired  by  force,  as  is  probable,  from  the  earlier  pos- 
session of  firearms,  or  by  craft,  as  is  possible,  or  by  both,  as  is 
equally  possible,  was  a  condition  existing  for  a  comparatively 
l)ricf  time,  and  in  no  w-ay  proving  the  physical  or  moral  feebleness 
of  the  Lenape. 

^^'hat  has  been  said  may  serve  to  give  a  fair  idea  of  those 
occupants  of  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania  whom  the  white  men  dis- 
possessed. The  history  of  their  expulsion  will  throw  further 
light  upon  them.  We  shall  see  them  exhibit  qualities  command- 
ing our  respect  and  sympathy,  coupled  with  other  qualities  which 
shock  and  repel  us.  In  the  struggle  for  life  and  home  they  dis- 
played faults  and  virtues,  weakness  and  strength,  folly  and  sense. 
We  may  consider,  then,  that  as  the  Seventeenth  Century  opened, 
in  the  years  when  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  was  closing  in  England, 
and  Shakespeare  was  building  the  structure  of  his  fame,  the  red 
people  of  Pennsylvania  were  pursuing  the  simple  round  of  their 
primitive  life.  No  ships  had  reached  their  waters.  Xo  whisper 
had  come  to  them  of  the  enormous  change  that  impended  over 
them.  Paddling  their  canoes  upon  the  streams,  spearing  fish  in 
the  shallows,  hunting  bear  and  deer  in  the  mountains,  planting 
and  gathering  their  crops  in  their  little  fields,  dancing  and  sing- 
ing at  their  festivals,  or  kindling  their  council-fires  at  the  places 
long  familiar  to  them,  no  thought  had  entered  their  child-like 

26 


The   Indians 

minds  that  the  end  of  all  this  was  at  hand — that  a  great  company 
of  their  fellow-men.  living  far  away,  had  built  prodigious  canoes 
to  cross  the  boundless  waters,  and  were  about  to  descend  upon 
them,  nominally  in  friendship,  but  really  with  plans  and  purposes 
which  must  ultimately  mean  to  them  destruction  and  death. 

TRADITION  OF  THE  LENAPE  MIGRATION. 

[From  Rev.  John  Heckcwelder's  "History,  Manners  and  Customs  of  the 
Indian  Nations  who  once  inhabited  Pennsylvania  and  the  Neighboring 
States."  Originally  published  by  him  in  1818,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society;  republished,  1S76,  by  the  Pennsylvania  His- 
torical  Society.] 

The  Lenni  Lenape  (according  to  the  traditions  handed  down  to  them  by 
their  ancestors)  resided  many  hundred  years  ago  in  a  very  distant  country  in 
the  western  part  of  the  American  continent.  For  some  reason,  which  I  do 
not  find  accounted  for,  they  determined  on  migrating  to  the  eastward,  and 
accordingly  set  out  together  in  a  body.  After  a  very  long  journey,  and  many 
nights'  encampments'  by  the  way.  they  at  length  arrived  on  the  Xamae  si 
Sipii,'  where  they  fell  in  with  the  Mengwe,  who  had  likewise  emigrated  from 
a  distant  country,  and  had  struck  upon  this  river  somewhat  higher  up.  Their 
object  was  the  same  with  that  of  the  Delawares;  they  were  proceeding  on  to 
the  eastward,  until  they  should  find  a  country  that  pleased  them.  The  spies 
which  the  Lenape  had  sent  forward  for  the  purpose  of  rccunnoitering.  had 
long  before  their  arrival  discovered  that  the  country  east  of  the  Mississippi 
was  inhabited  by  a  very  powerful  nation,  who  had  many  large  towns  built 
on  the  great  rivers  flowing  through  their  land.  These  people  (as  I  was  told) 
called  themselves  Talliirue  or  TalllgC7ci.  Colonel  John  Gibson,  however,  a 
gentleman  who  has  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  Indian?  and  speaks  several 
of  their  languages,  is  of  the  opinion  that  they  were  not  called  Talligeivi,  but 
AlUgeii'i.  and  if  would  seem  that  he  is  right,  from  the  traces  of  their  name 
which  still  remain  in  the  country,  the  Allegheny  river  and  mountains  having 
indubitably  been  named  after  them.  The  Delawares  still  call  the  former 
Alligczci  Sipji,  the  River  of  the  AUigewi.  ... 

Many  wonderful  things  are  told  of  this  famous  people.  They  are  said 
to  have  been  remarkably  tall  and  stout,  and  there  is  a  tradition  that  there 
were  giants  among  them,  people  of  a  much  larger  size  than  the  tallest  of  the 
Lenape.  It  is  related  that  they  had  built  to  themselves  regular  fortifications 
or  entrenchments,  frotn  whence  they  would  sally  out.  but  were  generally  re- 
pulsed. I  have  seen  many  of  the  fortifications  said  to  have  been  built  by 
them.  .  .  . 

When  the  Lenape  arrived  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  they  sent  a 
message  to  the  Alligewi  to  request  permission  to  settle  themselves  in  their 
neighborhood.  This  was  refused  them,  but  they  obtained  leave  to  pass 
through  the  country  and  seek  a  settlement  farther  to  the  eastward.       They 

'A  night's  encampment  signifies  a  half  of  -The    Mississippi— river   of   fish, 

a  year. 

27 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

accordingly  began  to  cross  the  Namaesi  Sipu,  when  the  Alhgcvvi,  seeing  that 
their  numbers  were  so  very  great,  and  in  fact  they  consisted  of  many  thou- 
sands, made  a  furious  attack  on  those  who  had  crossed,  threatening  them  all 
with  destruction,  if  they  dared  to  persist  in  coming  over  to  their  side  of  the 
river.  Fired  at  the  treachery  of  these  people,  and  the  great  loss  of  men 
they  had  sustained,  and  besides,  not  being  prepared  for  a  conflict,  the  Lenape 
consulted  on  what  was  to  be.  done ;  whether  to  retreat  in  the  best  manner 
they  could,  or  try  their  strength,  and  let  the  enemy  see  that  they  were  not 
cowards,  but  men,  and  too  high-minded  to  sufifer  themselves  to  be  driven  off 
before  they  had  made  a  trial  of  their  strength,  and  were  convinced  that  the 
enemy  was  too  powerful  for  them.  The  Mengwe,  who  had  hitherto  been 
satisfied  with  being  spectators  from  a  distance,  ofifered  to  join  them,  on  con- 
dition that,  after  conquering  the  country,  thej'  should  be  entitled  to  share  it 
with  them;  their  proposal  was  accepted,  and  the  resolution  was  taken  by  the 
two  nations,  to  conquer  or  die. 

Having  thus  united  their  forces,  the  Lenape  and  Mengwe  declared  war 
against  the  Alligewi,  and  great  battles  were  fought,  in  which  many  warriors 
fell  on  both  sides.  The  enemy  fortified  their  large  towns  and  erected  forti- 
fications, especially  on  large  rivers,  and  near  lakes,  where  they  were  succes- 
sively attacked  and  sometimes  stormed  by  the  allies.  An  engagement  took 
place  in  which  hundreds  fell,  who  were  afterwards  buried  in  holes  or  laid  to- 
gether in  heaps  and  covered  over  with  earth.  No  quarter  was  given,  so  that 
the  Alligewi,  at  last,  finding  that  their  destruction  was  inevitable  if  they  per- 
sisted in  their  obstinacy,  abandoned  the  country  to  the  conquerors,  and  fled 
down  the  Mississippi  river,  from  whence  they  never  returned.  The  war 
which  was  carried  on  with  this  nation  lasted  many  years,  during  which  the 
Lenape  lost  a  great  number  of  their  warriors,  while  the  Mengwe  would 
always  hang  back  in  the  rear,  leaving  them  to  face  the  enemy.  In  the  end, 
the  conquerors  divided  the  country  between  themselves;  the  Mengwe  made 
choice  of  the  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  the  great  lakes,  and  on  their  tributary 
streams,  and  the  Lenape  took  possession  of  the  country  to  the  south.  For 
a  long  period  of  time,  some  say  many  hundred  years,  the  two  nations  resided 
peaceably  in  this  country,  and  increased  very  fast ;  some  of  their  most  enter- 
prising huntsmen  and  warriors  crossed  the  great  swamps,^  and  falling  on 
streams  running  to  the  eastward,  followed  them  down  to  the  great  Bay 
River,  thence  into  the  Bay  itself,  which  we  call  Chesapeak.  As  they  pursued 
their  travels,  partly  by  land  and  partly  by  water,  sometimes  near  and  at 
other  times  on  the  great  Saltwater  Lake,  as  they  call  the  Sea,  they  discovered 
the  great  River,  which  we  call  the  Delaware;  and  thence  exploring  still  east- 
ward, the  Schcyichbi  country,  now  named  New  Jersey,  they  arrived  at  an- 
other great  stream,  that  which  we  call  the  Hudson  or  North  River.  Satisfied 
with  what  they  had  seen,  they,  (or  some  of  them)  after  a  long  absence,  re- 
turned to  their  nation  and  reported  the  discoveries  they  had  made;  they  de- 
scribed the  country  they  had  discovered  as  abounding  in  game  and  various 
kinds  of  fruits ;  and  the  rivers  and  bays,  with  fish,  tortoises,  etc.,  together 
with  abundance  of  water-fowl,  and  no  enemy  to  be  dreaded.  They  consid- 
ered the  event  as  a  fortunate  one  for  them,  and  concluding  this  to  be  the 
country  destined  for  them  by  the  Great  Spirit,  they  began  to  emigrate  thither, 

'This  is  taken  to  imply  the  glades  of  the 
Alleghany  mountains. 

28 


The   Indians 


as  yet  but  in  small  bodies,  so  as  not  to  be  straitened  for  want  of  provisions 
by  the  way,  some  even  laying  by  for  n  whole  year;  at  last  they  settled  on  the 
four  great  rivers  (which  we  call  Delaware,  Hudson,  Susquehannah,  and 
Potomack),  making  the  Delaware,  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  "Lenape- 
Zi'ihittitck"  (the  river  or  stream  of  the  Lenape )  the  center  of  their  possessions. 
They  say,  however,  that  the  whole  of  their  nation  did  not  reach  this 
country;  that  many  remained  behind  in  order  to  aid  and  assist  that  great  body 


Axel  Oxensliern 

Swedish  statesman,  1583- 1654.  Assisted  in 
founding  the  Swedish  colony  on  the  Delaware. 
I'hotographed  especially  for  this  work  from  a 
canvas  in  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsyl- 
vania 

of  their  people,  which  had  not  crossed  the  Namsesi  Sipu.  but  had  retreated 
into  the  interior  of  the  country  on  the  other  side,  on  being  informed  of  the  re- 
ception which  those  who  had  crossed  had  met  with,  and  probably  thinking 
that  they  had  all  been  killed  by  the  enemy. 

Their  nation  finally  became  divided  into  three  separate  bodies;  the  larger 
body,  which  they  suppose  to  have  been  one-half  of  the  whole,  was  settled  on 
the  Atlantic,  and  the  other  half  was  again  divided  into  two  parts,  one  of 
which,  the  strongest  as  they  suppose,  remained  beyond  the  Mississippi,  and 
the  remainder,  where  they  left  them,  on  this  •^ide  of  that  river. 

29 


CHAPTER  II 
PIONEER  WHITE  .MEN  IN  PENNSYLVANIA.— 1608-1638 

TWO  o-reat  waterways  south  of  Pennsylvania  admit  ships 
from  Europe,  and  by  them  the  white  men  came.  Their 
hrst  approach  was  up  the  Chesapeake. 

At  the  height  of  summer,  1608,  the  Susquehannock  Indians, 
at  their  "town"  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Susquehanna  river,  within 
what  we  know  as  Lancaster  county,  received  a  message,  hastily 
brought  from  below  by  two  Indians,  that  strangers  who  had  come 
up  the  great  bay  in  a  boat  wished  to  see  them.  How  the  messen- 
gers described  these  strangers  we  can  surmise ;  doubtless  they  gave 
them  the  character  of  superhuman  beings — gods  worthy  of  wor- 
ship— for  such  the  white  men  seemed  to  the  Indians,  when  first 
seen. 

The  visitors  were  a  boat-load,  thirteen  altogether,  of  those 
English  colonists  who  had  begun  their  troublous  experiences  at 
Jamestown,  in  Virginia,  the  year  before.  In  command  of  the 
party  was  that  famous  figure  in  the  history  of  American  explora- 
tion and  colonization,  Captain  John  Smith,  hero  according  to  his 
own  account  of  many  adventures  by  sea  and  land,  in  the  Old 
World  and  the  New%  occasion  of  interminable  disputes  to  histor- 
ians, author  of  the  earliest  tolerable  map  of  the  region  we  are  now 
describing.  Captain  Smith  and  his  party  had  left  Jamestown  on 
the  24th  of  July,  and  with  sail  and  oar,  encountering  some  dan- 
gers and  no  small  privation,  including  fever  that  disabled  several, 
had  toiled  up  to  the  head  of  the  bay.     There  they  encountered 

30 


The   Pioneer  \Miite   Men 

sundry  Indians,  including  a  war  parly  of  "Massawomeks,"  whom 
the  Jamestown  captain  met  warily,  for  lie  had  heard  of  them 
farther  down  the  hay.  frnm  trihcs  on  the  eastern  shore,  the  Xan- 
ticokes  perhaps,  as  a  "strenuous"  people,  greedy  of  spf)il.  delighted 
to  shed  hlood. 

"Tn  crossing  the  hay,"  Smith  says,  "we  encountered  seven  or 
eight  canowes  full  of  Massawomeks."  After  delay  and  parley, 
they  "presented  our  Captaine  with  venison,  heares  flesh,  fish, 
bowes,  arrowes.  clubs,  targets,  and  beare  skinnes."  They  had 
just  been  at  war  with  the  Tockwoghs,  near  by.  and  in  evidence 
showed  "greene  wounds,"  which  they  had  received  in  the  conflict. 
They  parted  from  Smith  at  nightfall,  promising  as  he  understood 
to  return  in  the  morning,  then  paddled  away  uj)  a  ri\er  on  the 
west  side  of  the  bay,  which  he  called  W'illowby's.  and  which  is 
supposed  to  be  the  Bush.  In  the  uk  »rning  they  did  not  reapjiear ; 
Smith  saw  them  no  more. 

These  "Massawomeks"  are  supposed  to  have  been  Irof|uois  of 
New  York,  from  the  descriptions  which  we  shall  have  in  a  mo- 
ment, derived  from  the  Susquchannocks.  The  Tockw(»ghs  who 
had  given  them  the  wounds,  yet  "greene,"  were  a  small  tribe  on 
a  river  on  the  east  side  of  the  Chesapeake,  identified  now  as  the 
Sassafras.  To  them  Smitli  paid  a  \isit.  and  the\'  recei\ed  him  in 
friendship.  His  account  says :  "Many  hatchets,  knives,  peeces 
of  iron  and  brass  we  saw  amongst  them  which  they  reported  to 
have  from  the  Susquehannocks.  mightie  people  and  mortall  ene- 
mies with  the  Massawomeks.  The  Susf|uehannr>cks  inhabit  upon 
the  chiefe  spring  of  these  four  Branches  of  the  bays  head,  two 
days  higher  than  our  barge  could  pass  for  rocks,  yet  we  prevailed 
with  the  Interpreter  to  take  with  him  another  Interpreter  to  per- 
suade the  Susr|uehannocks  to  come  visit  us.  for  their  language  are 
different." 

The  head  of  Chesapeake  bay  Smith  found  "six  or  seven  miles 
in  breadth.  It  divides  itself  into  four  branches,  the  best  cometh 
[from]     northwest    from    among    tlic    mountains,    but    though 

31 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

canowes  may  goe  a  day's  journey  or  two  up  it  we  could  not  get 
two  miles  up  it  with  our  boats  for  rocks."  This,  of  course,  was 
the  Susquehanna.  It  is  evident  that  he  came  near  to,  but  prob- 
ably not  over,  the  line  of  Pennsylvania.  "Having  lost  our  grap- 
nell  among  the  rocks,"  he  adds,  "we  were  neare  two  hundred 
myles  from  home  and  our  barge  about  two  tuns."  His  crew  were 
disabled;  of  the  six  sailors  four  were  prostrated  with  sickness, 
leaving  but  two  to  help  him  navigate,  for  the  other  six,  he  says. 
were  "gentlemen." 

On  the  Sassafras,  enjoying  the  hospitality  of  the  friendly 
Tockwoghs  "three  or  four  days,"  they  waited  for  the  return  of 
the  two  messengers  sent  to  the  Susquehannocks.  At  the  end  of 
that  time  they  w-ere  rewarded ;  the  Pennsylvanians  came.  Smith's 
story  proceeds : 

"Sixty  of  these  Susquehannocks  came  to  us,  with  skins,  bowes, 
arrowes,  targets,  beeds,  swords,  &  tobacco  pipes  for  presents. 
Such  great  and  well  proportioned  men  are  seldom  seen,  for  they 
seemed  like  giants  to  the  English,  yea,  and  to  the  neighbours,  yet 
seemed  of  an  honest  and  simple  disposition.  They  were  with 
much  adoe  restrained  from  adoring  us  as  gods.  These  are  the 
strangest  people  of  all  these  countries,  both  in  language  and  attire; 
for  their  language  it  may  w-ell  become  their  proportions,  sounding 
from  them  as  a  voyce  in  the  vault.  Their  attire  is  the  skinnes 
of  bears,  and  w'olves,  some  have  cossacks  made  of  beares  heads 
and  skinnes,  that  a  man's  head  goes  through  the  skinnes  neck,  and 
the  eares  of  the  beare  fastened  to  his  shoulders,  the  nose  and  teeth 
hanging  down  his  breast,  another  beares  face  split  behind  him, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  nose  hung  a  paw,  the  half  sleeves  coming  to 
the  elbowes  w-ere  the  necks  of  beares,  and  the  armes  through  the 
mouth  with  paw-es  hanging  at  their  noses.  One  had  the  head  of 
a  wolfe  hanging  in  a  chaine  for  a  Jewell,  his  tobacco-pipe  three 
quarters  of  a  yard  long,  prettily  carved  with  a  bird,  a  deare,or  some 
such  devise  at  the  great  end,  sufficient  to  beat  out  ones  braines : 
with  bowes,  arrowes,  and  clubs,  sutable  to  their  greatnesse.     Five 

32 


The  Pioneer  \\'hitc  Men 

of  their  chiefe  Werowances  came  aboord  us  and  crossed  the  bay  in 
the  barge.  The  picture  of  the  greatest  of  them  is  signified  in  the 
mappe.  The  calfe  of  whose  leg  was  three  quarters  of  a  yard 
about,  and  all  the  rest  of  his  limbs  so  answerable  to  that  propor- 
tion that  he  seemed  the  goodliest  man  we  ever  beheld.  His  hayre. 
the  one  side  was  long,  the  other  shore  close  with  a  ridge  over  his 
crowne  like  a  cocks  combe.  His  arrowes  were  five  quarters  long, 
headed  with  the  splinters  of  a  white  christall-like  stone,  in  forme 
of  a  heart,  an  inch  broad,  an  inch  and  a  halfe  or  more  long.  These 
he  wore  in  a  woolves  skinne  at  his  backe  for  his  quiver,  his  bow  in 
the  one  hand  and  his  clubbe  in  the  other,  as  is  described." 

These  Susquehannocks,  Smith  goes  on  to  say.  "are  scarce 
knowne  to  Powhatan.  They  can  make  neare  six  hundred  able 
men." — the  usual  exaggeration — ''and  are  palisadoed  in  their 
towns  to  defend  them  from  the  Massawomeks."  The  adoration 
of  Smith  already  alluded  to  they  testified  ''most  passionately." 
although  he  rebuked  them.  They  sang  first  "a  most  fearful  song," 
then  "with  a  most  strange,  furious  action  and  a  hellish  voice  began 
an  oration."  When  it  was  at  last  ended,  "with  a  great  painted 
beares-skin  they  covered  him :  then  one  ready  with  a  great  chayne 
of  white  beads,  weighing  at  least  six  or  seven  pounds,  hung  it 
about  his  necke;  the  others  had  i8  mantels,  made  of  divers  sorts 
of  skinnes  sewed  together ;  all  these  with  many  other  toyes  they 
layd  at  his  feete.  stroking  their  ceremonious  hands  about  his  necke 
for  his  creation  to  be  their  governor  and  protector,  promising  their 
aydes,  victualls,  or  what  they  had  to  be  his.  if  he  would  stay  with 
them,  to  defend  and  revenge  them  of  the  Massawomeks." 

This  was  impossible.  "We  left  them  at  Tnckwogh,"  says  Smith, 
"sorrowing  for  our  departure,  yet  we  promised  the  next  yeare 
againe  to  visit  them.  Many  descriptions  and  discourses  they  made 
us,  of  Atquanachack,  Massawomek,  and  other  people,  signifying 
they  inhabit  upon  a  great  river  beyond  the  mountaines.  which  we 
understood  to  be  some  great  lake,  or  the  river  of  Canada:  and 
from  the  French  to  have  their  hatchets  and  commodities  by  trade." 

1-3  33 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

Such  were  the  Pennsyh-anians  of  the  lower  Susquehanna,  in 
the  year  1608,  according  to  Captain  John  Smith.  His  story  must 
have  the  substance  of  truth,  and  though  somewhat  warily  we  are 
obliged  to  accept  it  as  history.  The  heroic  "werowance,"  the 
giant  Indian  with  the  enormous  leg,  stands  indeed  upon  Smith's 
"mappe"  to  this  day,  towering  over  the  rude  delineation  of  bay 
and  river,  creek  and  mountain.  That  the  bold  captain  exagger- 
ated his  proportions  somewhat  is  most  probable,  yet  human  skele- 
tons of  extraordinary  size  have  been  dug  up  on  the  lower  Susque- 
hanna in  our  day,  and  may  have  been  frames  of  such  men  as  came 
to  meet  the  white  strangers  in  August,  1608. 

At  the  least,  we  may  say  with  confidence  that  here  was  the  first 
contact  of  w-hite  men  with  the  native  people  of  Pennsylvania;  if 
Smith  did  not  actually  come  within  the  line  of  our  present  State, 
he  saw  its  inhabitants  earliest  of  all  the  European  pioneers,  and 
the  red  men,  meeting  him  and  his  company,  beheld  for  the  first 
time  the  race  that  was  coming  to  dispossess  them. 

Twelve  months  after  Smith's  visit  to  the  head  of  the  Chesa- 
peake it  was  that  by  the  voyage  of  Henry  Hudson  along  the 
Atlantic  coast  the  existence  of  Delaware  Bay  became  definitely 
known  to  the  white  men,  and  a  new  way  to  Pennsylvania  was 
ready  for  opening.  On  the  28th  of  August,  1609 — a  month 
later,  as  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  chapter,  than  Champlain's 
momentous  encounter  with  the  Mohawks  at  Ticonderoga — Hud- 
son's Half  Moon,  coming  slowly  up  from  the  Chesapeake  Capes, 
past  Chincoteague  and  the  low  sand-beaches  of  Rehoboth,  entered 
the  Capes  of  the  Delaware.  Hudson  was  an  Englishman,  but  in 
the  service  now  of  the  Dutch.  The  republic  of  the  Netherlands, 
after  a  struggle  never  surpassed  for  heroism  and  constancy,  had 
won  a  truce  with  Philip  of  Spain,  and  the  Dutch  merchants  had 
sent  the  English  captain  out  upon  the  old  quest,  a  short  way  to 
China.  He  brought  his  little  ship  into  the  bay  cautiously.  It 
was  about  noon.  The  day  was  very  warm.  The  place  was  whol- 
ly unknown  to  him.  but  the  broad  bay,  bringing  down  its  flood  of 

34 


The   Pioneer  \A'hite   Men 

waters,  encouraged  the  hope  that  here  at  last  might  Ije  a  north- 
west passage  to  Cathay.  The  afternoon  was  spent  in  soundings, 
for  shoal  ground,  now  familiar  to  ship-captains  and  pilots,  dis- 
couraged incautious  movement,  and  once  the  Half-Moon  touched 
bottom.  Finally,  at  evening.  Hudson  cast  anchor  in  eight  fatlnmis 
of  water,  and  next  morning,  deciding  that  "he  who  would  thor- 
oughly discover  this  great  hay  must  have  a  small  pinnace  to  send 
before  him,"  sailed  northwartl  up  the  Xew  jersey  coast,  and  a  few 
days  later  entered  the  great  river  that  since  has  borne  his  name. 

Slight  as  this  event  seems  in  the  narration,  it  has  great  im- 
portance in  the  history  we  are  now  presenting.  Hudson  made 
known  thus  to  his  employers,  the  Dutch  East  India  Company, 
and  to  the  sea-faring  nations  of  western  Europe,  the  existence  of 
this  wnde  bay,  into  which,  as  he  perceived,  a  great  river  must 
discharge.  His  discovery  laid  the  ground  for  the  claim  by  the 
Dutch  to  the  country  on  the  Delaware.  Exploration  followed, 
then  trade,  then  occupancy,  so  a  new  state.  We  shall  fm^'  all  this 
following  in  its  time. 

But  neither  John  Smith  nor  llcnry  llu(l>on.as  wcha\csecn, 
entered  Pennsylvania.  They  approached  or  reached  the  oi)en 
doorway,  but  did  not  come  inside.  The  actual  visit  of  a  white 
man  was  not  made  for  six  years  after  Hudson's  call  at  the  Capes. 
Apparentlv  the  first  of  white  pioneers  in  Pennsylvania  was  a 
Frenchman,  who  came  from  Canada,  Etienne  Brule,  a  follower  of 
Champlain,  the  first  Governor  of  New  France.  He  was  Cham- 
plain's  interpreter  and  guide,  "the  dauntless  woodsman,  pioneer  of 
pioneers."  Parkman  calls  him — yet  a  man.  it  would  appear,  of 
qualities  not  all  heroic. 

We  are  not  to  forget  that  the  French  were  in  Canada  long 
years  before  the  English  were  in  \'irginia,  or  the  Dutch  at  Man- 
hattan. Tt  was  in  1534  that'  Jacfjues  Cartier  sailed  up  the  St. 
Lawrence,  and  from  that  time  tluTc  was  French  trade  on  that 
river;  not  until  \(>oj  diil  the  Jamestown  colonists  enter  the  Chesa- 
peake, and  settlement  in  that  (|uarter  liegin.      It  would  tmt  be  sur- 

35 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

prising,  then,  if  one  of  Champlain's  men,  detached  on  some  errand 
from  one  of  the "  French  excursions  or  forays  into  New  York, 
should  penetrate  the  unknown  country  to  the  south  a  Httle  farther, 
and  enter  Pennsylvania.  This,  it  seems,  is  what  happened.  In 
the  summer  of  1615,  Champlain  sent  Brule  southward  from  Lake 
Ontario,  through  the  country  of  the  hostile  Iroquois,  to  hasten  the 
march  of  five  hundred  Indians  of  the  Susquehanna  region  who 
had  promised  to  join  him  in  an  attack  on  an  Iroquois  stronghold. 
Brule  went,  accompanied  by  twelve  Hurons.  It  was  in  the  early 
autumn,  the  beginning  of  September.  He  and  his  companions 
made  their  way  stealthily,  and  not  without  perilous  adventure, 
southward  to  an  Indian  town  which  Champlain  calls,  in  his  narra- 
tive, Carantouan.  It  was  palisaded ;  it  could  send  out  eight  hun- 
dred warriors ;  its  population,  by  such  an  estimate — very  excessive 
it  would  seem — would  be  four  thousand.  It  was  situated  "three 
days  distant"  from  the  Iroquois  town  (probably  the  place  known 
to  us  as  Nichol's  Pond,  in  the  town  of  Fenner,  in  Madison  county, 
New  York,  near  Lake  Oneida),  which  Champlain  and  the  Hurons 
meant  to  attack,  and  so  must  have  been  near,  if  not  actually  within, 
the  limits  of  Pennsylvania. 

Brule  and  his  five  hundred  allies  arrived  before  the  Iroquois 
fortress  too  late  to  aid  Champlain,  who  had  failed,  had  been 
wounded,  and  had  retreated  to  Canada;  he  returned,  therefore, 
with  them,  to  Carantouan,  and  according  to  the  account  which  he 
gave  Champlain  when  next  they  met,  three  years  later,  he  spent 
the  winter,  161 5-16 16,  in  a  tour  of  exploration  into  the  regions 
southward  from  that  place.  His  adventures  are  thus  recorded  in 
the  "Voyages"  of  Champlain : 

"Brule  was  obliged  to  stay  and  spend  the  rest  of  the  autumn 
and  all  the  winter,  for  lack  of  company  and  escort  home.  While 
awaiting,  he  busied  himself  in  exploring  the  country  and  visiting 
the  tribes  and  territories  adjacent  to  that  place,  and  in  making  a 
tour  along  a  river  that  debouches  in  the  direction  of  Florida,  where 
are  many  powerful  and  warlike  nations,  carrying  on  wars  against 

36 


(    ilwf^   art-  tfu  L/nt".*   that  flif\s-  thv    FuCt' ,ln,t  t)wff 

-Jh'.it /}ir\v    thv    GrdtY  urul  i}loy\'  i'rt<^)itfr  hf(  > 

<  l'h\  Faiff  - l)ijii>urri<-.f  (tml    FowU  -  0\-^rlhr,>\x-^x     U 

{>J    Sc^/vt/i/c>.niucM     C'ivil/iz.i   Av-     ihftL^    — ^ 

Yje\i    l)uvv  thy  Sjnrit,anJ  to  xt     c/A'/T  '  J ' ';  m 

S'ojhou  art   Bnifif   ^vtthmAt .hut    ij'ciih     U/'/A/m 

I   fi\'  tliv  J-'ijrrir,to  trtitkr  Hri//.fr  st(^li'   i>ut   wi-,itr,. 

f  fhitif ,  aj  ihim  urt  "i'lrtttrJ. 
'■ff'in.  ,  l'>uui,:y  .  Jterff': 


^' 


Julin  Snmli 


Born    i<;8o;   died    16;  i 


The   Pioneer  \Miite   Men 

each  ritlier.  The  cHmate  there  is  very  temperate,  and  tliere  are 
great  numbers  of  animals  and  abundance  of  small  game.  But  to 
traverse  and  reach  these  regions  requires  practice,  on  account  of 
the  difficulties  involved  in  passing  the  extensive  wastes. 

'Tie  continued  his  course  along  the  river  as  far  as  the  sea.  and 
to  islands,  and  lands  near  them,  which  are  inhabited  by  various 
tribes  and  large  numbers  of  savages,  who  are  well  disposed  and 
love  the  French  above  all  nations.  But  those  who  k-now  the 
Dutch  complain  severely  of  them,  since  they  treat  them  very 
roughly.  Among  other  things  he  observed  that  the  winter  was 
very  temperate,  that  it  snowed  very  rarely,  and  that  when  it  <lid 
the  snow  was  not  a  foot  deep  and  melted  immediately. 

"After  traversing  the  country  and  observing  what  was  note- 
worthy, he  returned  to  the  village  (^f  Carantouan.  in  order  to  find 
an  escort  for  returning  to  our  settlement." 

And  lliis  is  the  story  of  Etienne  Brule's  entrance  upon  and 
exploration  of  Central  Pennsylvania,  and  the  country  farther 
southward.  It  seems  meagre,  it  must  be  confessed  :  but  we  are  to 
consider  that  it  is  the  condensed  account,  given  l)y  Champlain  (or 
the  editor  of  his  book),  in  the  midst  of  matters  which  seemed  to 
the  Frenchman  much  more  important.  It  exhibits  Brule  as  not 
merely  coming  across  the  line  of  Pennsylvania,  or  venturing  a 
little  way  within,  but  traversing  the  State  from  the  line  of  X'ew 
York  to  the  line  of  iMaryland.  exploring  the  valley  of  the  Susque- 
hanna through  most  of  its  length.  Presumably  he  returned 
through  the  same  region,  if  not  precisely  by  the  same  route,  to 
Carantouan.  and  he  had  thus  gained  by  observation  a  knowledge 
of  a  large  section  of  Pennsylvania — knowledge  which  hardly  for 
a  century  to  come  any  other  white  man  would  possess. 

And  now  we  return  again  to  the  Delaware,  for  there  the  ven- 
turing ships  from  Europe  will  presently  come  into  Pennsylvania 
waters.  After  Hudson,  almost  preci.sely  a  twelvemonth,  there 
came  to  the  mouth  of  the  bay.  as  he  had  done,  one  of  the  \'irginia 
adventurers.  Captain  Samuel  Argall.  who  had  left  Jamestown  in 

39 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

June,  1610.  on  a  voyage  to  seek  provisions.  He  entered  the  bay 
on  the  27th  of  August,  and  gave  it  the  name  Delaware,  after  Lord 
de  la  Warr.  then  Governor  of  Virginia.  He  "came  to  anchor." 
he  says,  "in  a  very  great  bay/'  where  he  "found  great  store  of 
people,  which  were  very  kind."  They  promised  him  that  the  next 
day  they  would  bring  him  "great  store  of  corne,"  but  in  the  even- 
ing, the  wind  suddenly  changing,  he  judged  it  best  to  sail  away. 

The  fame  of  Henry  Hudson's  voyage,  and  especially  of  his 
discovery  of  a  great  river  flowing  through  a  land  rich  with  furs, 
roused  the  Dutch  merchants  and  seamen,  and  ships  from  Holland 
soon  after  1609  began  to  gather  at  the  island  called  Manhattes,  or 
Manhattan.  Precisely  what  ships  came,  and  when,  in  this  early 
period,  belongs  to  the  history  of  New  York,  and  in  fact  is  but 
vaguely  and  incompletely  known;  but  by  1614  there  were  or  had 
lately  been  at  Manhattan  at  least  five  vessels  from  Dutch  ports, 
seeking  cargoes  of  furs.  One  of  them,  it  is  said,  commanded  by 
Cornelius  Mey,  came  that  year  down  the  New  Jersey  coast  and 
entered  Delaware  bay,  where  Mey  gave  to  the  two  capes  the 
names  which  one  of  them  for  a  long  time,  and  the  other  perma- 
nently kept — ]\Iey,  the  eastern,  and  Cornelius,  now  Henlopen,  the 
western.  This  voyage  may  have  been  made  in  1614,  or  it  may 
not ;  it  is  at  least  quite  as  likely  that  Mey  named  the  capes  on  a  later 
voyage  in  1623,  of  which  we  shall  speak  presently. 

Of  the  ships  at  IManhattan  in  16 14,  one,  the  Tiger,  commanded 
by  Captain  Adrian  Block,  by  some  mischance  was  burned,  and 
thereupon  Block  built,  in  the  spring  of  that  year,  on  the  shore  of 
Manhattan  Island,"  a  little  "yacht,"  to  take  her  place.  This  was 
the  Onrnst — Restless — famous  ever  since,  because  by  many  she 
has  been  supposed  to  be  the  first  sea-going  vessel  built  by  white 
men  within  the  limits  of  the  original  Union.  Really  she  was  the 
second,  and  a  mere  cock-boat  indeed,  judged  by  modern  standards, 
for  her  length  was  forty-four  and  a  half  feet,  her  width  eleven  and 
a  half,  and  her  capacity  "eight  lasts,"  about  sixteen  tons.  Yet  in  craft 
not  much  larger  mariners  \-entured  on  Inng  voyages  in  those  days. 

40 


m^    '^  f^^^l 

■ 

W'    ^'^'^^l 

^^H 

^^1 

^K^^  '''M'//jm 

1 

mim 

t 

M^^^^^^^Bl 

Giista\  US  Adolplui- 


King  of  Sweden  from  i6n  to  1632,  when  he 
was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Lutzcn.  Born  1594. 
l'liiitograi>licd  especially  for  this  work  by  J.  h. 
Sachse   from  a  canvas  in  the  Historical   Society 


The   Pioneer  \\'hitc   Men 

The  Oiinist  was  eni])lnyc<l.  lier  owners  reported  in  i6i6, 
"during-  the  space  of  three  years" — i.  e.  1614.  1^)15,  and  iGiC) — 
in  "l()()king  for  new  countries,  havens,  hays  and  rivers."  For 
such  a  purpose  she  served  well.  Sailing  in  her  from  Manhattan 
in  1 614.  Captain  Block  explored  the  coast  eastward  as  far  as  Cape 
Cod,  leaving  Dutch  names  on  land  and  water,  his  own  for  the 
small  island  at  the  eastern  end  of  Long  Island,  where  it  yet  re- 
mains. Then,  promptly  on  completing  his  trip,  he  returned  to 
Holland,  and  the  Oitnist  was  left  to  other  commanders. 

Two  years  later,  it  is  supposed,  another  of  the  Dutch  skippers. 
Cornelius  Hendricksen,  "of  Munnickendam,"  hrought  tlie  Onrust 
to  the  Delaware,  and  ascended  in  lier  tlie  l)ay  and  river  as  far  as 
the  mouth  of  the  Schuylkill.  ]f  he  made  such  a  vrjyage  in  1616, 
it  must  have  been  early  in  the  year,  for  on  the  i6th  of  August, 
that  year,  the  owners  of  the  Onrust  petitioned  the  States-General 
of  The  Netherlands  for  a  grant  of  privileges  of  trade,  on  account 
of  the  discoveries  which  they  asserted  Hendricksen  had  made  in 
her,  and  which  he.  being  himself  then  at  The  Hague,  was  called 
uijon.  in  their  behalf,  to  describe  and  verify. 

It  is  not  of  great  importance  to  the  history  of  Pennsylvania 
whether  Hendricksen's  voyagings  in  the  Onrust  included  such  a 
visit  to  the  Delaware  or  not.  Yet  in  dealing  with  these  begin- 
nings of  the  State  this  episode,  accorded  respect  by  nearly  all  our 
historical  writers,  can  hardly  be  passed  over.  Hendricksen's  own 
statement,  drawn  up  for  the  States-General,  affords  no  good  evi- 
dence that  he  ever  entered  the  bay,  or  even  visited  the  capes.  His 
report,  read  August  19,  1616,  is  simply  this: 

''He  hath  discovered  for  his  aforesaid  Masters  and  Directors 
certain  lands,  a  l)a\'  and  three  ri\ers.  situate  between  v*^  ''md  40 
degrees.  And  did  there  trade  with  the  inhabitants:  said  trade 
consisting  of  Sallies.  I'nrs.  Robes  and  other  Skins.  He  hath 
found  the  sai<l  cnnntr\-  full  of  irees.  to-wit:  o.aks.  hickory,  and 
pines,  which  trees  were  in  some  places  covered  with  vines.  He 
hath  seen  in  the  said  country  bucks  and  does,  turkeys  and  part- 

43 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

ridges.  He  hath  found  the  cHmate  of  the  said  country  very  tem- 
perate, judging  it  to  be  as  temperate  as  that  of  this  country,  Hol- 
land. He  also  traded  for  and  bought  from  the  inhabitants,  the 
Minquas,  three  persons,  being  people  belonging  to  this  Company, 
which  three  persons  were  employed  in  the  service  of  the  Mohawks 
and  Machicans,  giving  for  them  kettles,  beads,  and  merchandise." 

It  is  perplexing  to  read  this  report — so  vague,  so  general,  so 
wanting  in  particulars  which  would  make  it  certain  that  Hendrick- 
sen  had  really  explored  the  Delaware.  But  we  must  take  it  as  it 
is,  and  decide,  by  the  study  of  other  evidence,  what  its  significance 
ought  to  be.  One  word  in  it  fixes  our  attention,  "Minquas:"  as 
for  the  trees,  furs,  vines,  birds,  and  animals,  they  might  have  been 
found  over  a  wide  area  of  country  besides  that  on  the  Delaware. 
Minquas,  as  we  have  learned,  was  the  Dutch  name  for  the  Indians 
of  the  Susquehanna  region,  who  came  at  times  in  war-parties  to 
the  Delaware.  Except  for  this  word  it  could  as  readily  be  be- 
lieved that  Hendricksen's  "bay  and  three  rivers"  were  on  the 
coast  of  New  Jersey,  or  between  Cape  Henlopen  and  Chinco- 
teague. 

But  the  owners  of  the  Onriist,  in  their  petition,  referred  to  a 
"carte  figuratire,"  a  map,  which  they  had  placed  on  file.  This, 
they  said,  exhibited  the  field  of  Hendricksen's  discoveries.  Let 
us  turn  to  this.  What  map  Avas  it?  In  1841,  Mr.  John  Romeyn 
Brodhead,  agent  of  the  State  of  New  York,  searching  the  Dutch 
archives  at  The  Hague,  found  two  maps  which  seemed  to  have 
been  submitted  to  the  States-General  about  the  time  we  are  con- 
sidering, one  of  which  was  probably  the  map  referred  to.  One  of 
them,  on  paper,  was  larger  than  the  other ;  the  smaller  was  hand- 
somely drawn  on  parchment.  On  the  face  of  the, paper  map. 
inland,  near  the  word  "Minquaas,"  there  is  a  memorandum,  and 
this  vaguel}'-  suggests,  though  it  does  not  perfectly  fit,  Hendrick- 
sen's statement  that  he  had  ransomed  from  the  Minquas,  on  his 
voyage,  three  employes  of  "the  Company."  This  memorandum, 
translated,  runs  as  follows: 

44 


The  Pioneer  \Miitc   Men 

"N.  B.  Of  what  Kleynties  and  his  comrade  have  commu- 
nicated to  me  respecting  the  locahty  of  the  rivers  and  the  position 
of  the  tribes  which  they  found  in  their  expedition  from  the  Ma- 
quaas  in  to  the  interior  and  along  the  Xew  River  downwards  to 


.«tK.TO  s<ag.:,.;''. 

J7        »-■" 


i.\>^OrA3  Vl.SCOTLf.  RfX.ET  PRIMVSEO  NOMIM.  .\\..l  I 


James  I 

King  of  England,  1603-1625.  Photograplu-il 
especially  for  this  work  from  a  rare  print  in 
possession  of  Charles  V.  Keith 

the  Ogehage  (that  is  to  say  the  enemies  ni  the  aforesaid  Northern 
tribes),  I  cannot  at  present  find  anything  at  hand  except  two 
rough  drafts  of  maps  partly  drawn  with  accuracy.  And  in  delib- 
erately considering  how  I  can  best  reconcile  this  one  with  the 
rough  drafts  communicated.  I  find  that  the  places  of  the  tribes  of 
the  Sennecas,  Gachoos.  Capitanasses,  and  Jottecas  ought  to  be 
marked  down  considerablv  further  west  into  the  countrv." 


45 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

Obviously  this  inenioraiulum  is  the  confession  of  the  conscien- 
tious Dutch  map-maker  that  the  materials  given  him  for  his  inland 
work  are  impossible  to  be  brought  into  satisfactory  order.  The 
allusion  to  "Kleynties  and  his  comrade,"  or  comrades,  has  interest 
and  probable  significance.  They  made,  it  seems,  an  expedition; 
it  was  from  the  j\Iaquaas — IMohawks — into  the  interior,  then 
along  the  New  River — a  Dutch  name,  among  many,  for  the  Dela- 
^vare — and  downward  to  enemies  of  the  Maquaas.  This  would 
reasonably  be  a  trip  from  the  Mohawk  country  into  that  of  the 
Lenape — Algonkian  enemies  of  the  Iroquois — or  into  the  country 
raided  at  times  by  the  Susquehannocks. 

This  larger  map,  the  paper  one  containing  the  memorandum, 
is  much  more  than  the  other  a  map  of  the  Delaware  bay  and  lower 
river,  though  very  incorrectly  drawn  in  many  particulars.  It 
shows  a  bay,  unnamed,  nearly  where  the  Delaware  bay  should  be ; 
into  its  W'CSt  side,  low  down,  flows  a  river,  which  comes  from  far 
in  the  north,  where  it  issues  from  a  large  lake,  "Versch  water." 
close  to  a  river  flowing  eastward  to  the  Hudson — evidently  the 
Mohawk.  On  the  west  bank  of  the  long  river,  above-  the  bay, 
perhaps  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Christiana,  or  Schuylkill,  are 
indicated  Indian  lodges,  with  the  name  "Minciuaas."  attached; 
again,  further  up,  on  the  east  side,  under  the  memorandum  already 
quoted,  this  name  "Minquaas"  appears  again. 

Was  this  paper  map  the  one  on  which  the  Onriist  owners 
relied?  It  is  impossible  to  say. ^  Neither  of  them  is  dated.  The 
parchment  map  would  naturally  be  thought  the  later  one.  for  it 
presents  more  geographical  detail,  and  is  drawn  with  more  pre- 
cision. On  it  the  coast-line  from  middle  New  Jersey  to  the 
Penobscot  river  is  presented  with  tolerable  accuracy,  many  place 

'Mr.   Brodhead   ("History  of  New  York,"  to   the   memorial.     And   Mr.    Brodhead   him- 

I-.    757,    758),   thinks   it   was — that   it   was   a  self   (presumably)   has  placed  on  the  bottom 

new    map    in    1616,    prepared    at    that    time,  of     the     reproduced     parchment     copy     (see 

after   Hendricksen's   return    from   the    Dela-  "Documents    Relating   to    the    Colonial    His- 

ware    to    Holland,    for    the    express    purpose  tory  of  Xew  York,"   I.,  13),  a  memorandum 

of    supporting    his    owners'    claims.      But    it  that   it  was  the  one   that  showed  Hendrick- 

was   the   parchment   map   that    was   attached  sen's   discoveries. 

46 


The   Pioneer  \\'hite   Men 

names  being  given.  It  embodies,  no  doubt,  the  results  of  Block's 
cruise  eastward  fnmi  Manhattan,  in  the  Oiintst,  in  1^14.  Far 
down  in  the  left-hand  corner,  the  entrance  to  Chesapeake  bay  is 
shown,  and  its  capes  are  marked,  lint  as  to  the  lower  Delaware 
it  offers  nothing  which  we  can  identify.  Between  Sandy  Hook 
and  Cape  Charles  it  shows  no  real  bay  whatever.  It  suggests  no 
Delaware  capes,  and  has  no  names  of  any — despite  May's  reputed 
visit  to  and  naming  of  them  in  1614.  A  short,  narrow,  straight 
river,  unnamed,  is  shown  cr-ming  directly  from  the  west,  and 
entering  the  sea  less  than  halfway  down  the  Xew  Jersey  coast. 
Higher  up  on  the  map,  howoxer.  there  appear  the  upper  reaches  of 
a  river.  This  river  ends  abrui)tly  :  it  is  cut  squarely  off.  connected 
with  nothing,  its  downward  course  suspended  in  air.  On  its  bank 
is  the  indication  of  an  Indian  town  and  the  name  "Minquaas." 
This  is  nearly  westward  from  Manhattan,  and  if  strictly  con- 
strued should  signify  the  neighborhood  north  of  the  Lehigh's 
junction  with  the  Delaware. 

We  ha\'e  dwelt  upon  these  maps  because  they  arc  the  earliest 
Xcw  Xetherland  cartography.  Both  show  that  up  to  1616  little 
was  known  to  the  Dutch  concerning  the  Delaware  regi(  >n.  The  data 
for  it  given  the  draftsman  were  e\identl\'  meagre  anil  confused. 

Historical  works  on  Pennsyhania  ha\e  accepted  as  conclusive 
the  evidence  that  Plendricksen  ascended  the  Delaware,  "landed  at 
several  places,  took  soundings,  drew  charts,  antl  discovered  the 
general  contour  of  the  bay,  and  the  capabilities  of  the  river."  It 
has  also  been  taken  as  proved  that  three  white  men.  employes  of 
the  Dutch  Company  at  their  fort  near  Albany,  having  left  the 
Hudson  Valley  and  reached  the  headwaters  of  the  Delaware — or 
Susquehanna — had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Minquas  (Sus- 
quehannocks).  and  being  found  by  Hendricksen  on  the  Delaware, 
were  ransomed  by  him.  at  the  place  where  Philadelphia  now 
stands,  or  at  the  site  of  Wilmington. 

Tt  can  onlv  be  said  that  putting  tf^gether  all  the  evidence,  these 
statements  are  probably  justified.     The  report  nf  Hendricksen. 

47 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

the  memoramlniii  on  the  map.  and  the  collateral  facts,  point  to 
such  a  conclusion  as  reasonable.  It  seems  probable  that  the 
parchment  map,  notwithstanding  its  larger  scope  and  fuller  geo- 
graphical detail,  was  the  earlier;  that  it  was  drawn  in  1614,  upon 
the  return  of  Adrian  Block  to  Holland,  and  probably  was  used 
then  to  display  his  explorations ;  while  the  paper  map  was  drawai 
in  1616  to  show  the  region  of  Hendricksen's  voyaging.  As  has 
already  been  said,  the  paper  map  suggests  some  knowledge  of  the 
lower  Delaware,  while  the  parchment  one  does  not. 

The  States-General,  whether  on  account  of  their  wish  not 
to  arouse  the  English  by  too  obvious  a  claim  to  regions  which 
might  belong  to  Virginia ;  or  because  the  formation  of  the  Dutch 
West  India  Company  was  in  view ;  or  because  they  doubted  the 
reality  or  value  of  Hendricksen's  voyage ;  or  for  some  other  rea- 
son, did  not  grant  the  Onritst's  owners  the  trade  monopoly  they 
asked  to  "the  bay  and  three  rivers."  Their  High  ^Mightinesses 
pondered  over  the  skipper's  report  and  the  merchants'  petition, 
postponed  action  on  them,  took  them  up  again,  postponed  them 
again,  looked  at  them  a  third  time,  and  finally  postponed  them 
once  more:  and  there  the  record  ends. 

It  is  to  be  said,  of  course,  that  if  the  Company's  employes, 
''Kleynties  and  his  comrade,"  or  comrades,  made  the  journey 
downward  from  Albany  to  the  neighborhood  of  Philadelphia  or 
Wilmington,  by  a  route  west  of  the  Delaware,  in  the  spring  of 
1616,  they  were  nearly  the  earliest  white  visitors  to  Pennsylvania. 
Brule  probably  left  Carantouan  in  the  autumn  of  161 5,  and  so 
preceded  them  but  a  few  months. 

Interest  in  the  trade  to  America  increased  in  the  Dutch  cities ; 
the  ambition  of  Netherlands  statesmen  and  merchants  for  a  firm 
hold  in  the  New  World  became  more  definite.  In  June,  1621,  the 
charter  of  the  West  India  Company,  whose  plans  had  been  for 
some  time  maturing,  was  granted  by  the  Dutch  government.  The 
Company  received  by  it  the  sole  right,  during  twenty-four  years, 
to  trade  to  the  African  coast  between  the  Tropic  of  Cancer  and 

48 


The   Pioneer  White   Men 

the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  to  the  American  Coast  between  the 
Bay  of  Xew  Fonndland  and  Straits  of  Magellan. 

Under  the  West  India  Company's  authority,  in  1623,  Captain 
Cornelius  ]\Iey  came  again  to  America,  and  proceeded  to  the 
South  River — the  Delaware.  He  certainly  ascended  the  bay  and 
river,  for  either  in  that  year  or  1624  he  built  at  or  near  where 
Gloucester  now  stands,  on  the  Xew  Jersey  shore,  a  trading  post, 
Fort  Nassau.  His  operations  doubtless  brought  him  within  the 
waters  of  Pennsylvania;  if  we  lack  confidence  in  the  account  of 
Hendricksen's  visit,  we  must  regard  Mey  as  the  first  of  the 
pioneers  to  the  river  front  of  the  State. 

Fort  Nassau,  a  log  structure,  capable  of  defense  against  lx)ws 
and  arrows,  sufficient  for  a  depot  of  furs,  but  badly  situated  to 
command  the  commerce  of  the  river,  was  the  first  place  definitely 
occupied  by  white  men  on  the  Delaware.  It  stood  for  nearly 
thirty  years,  until  1651,  and  in  that  time  was  the  center  here  of 
Dutch  authority  and  trade.  To  it  the  New  Jersey  and  Pennsyl- 
vania Indians.  Lenape  of  many  bands  and  local  designations, 
brought  their  peltries  to  exchange  for  articles  that  served  their  use 
or  pleased  their  fancy,  or  for  rum  that  made  them  drunk. 

The  most  careful  study  of  all  the  shreds  of  evidence  left  to  us 
fails  to  settle  with  certainty  the  precise  site  of  Fort  Nassau.  So 
also  are  we  unable  to  say  whether  it  was  not.  time  and  again, 
partly  or  wholly  abandoned  in  intervals  of  the  fur  trade.  Man- 
hattan was  the  seat  of  the  Dutch  authority,  the  capital  of  New 
Netherland.  and  the  colony  there  seldom  had  strength  to  spare 
from  its  own  affairs.  In  1625.  we  are  told  by  Wassanaar.  "the 
Dutch  had  determined  to  abandon  it  and  remove  its  occupants  to 
New  Amsterdam  (Manhattan),  to  strengthen  the  latter  colony, 
and  avoid  expense,  a  resolution  they  carried  out.  though  they  did 
not  relinquish  their  trade  with  the  Indians,  but  occasi<^nally  sent  a 
yacht  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Fort."  I'our  cou])les.  "who  had  been 
married  at  sea,"  and  eight  seamen,  were  sent  from  Manhattan  to 
the  Fort,  in  1623  or  later :  and  another  post  was  establi'^hed  at  that 

1-4  ^  49 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

period,  it  is  said,  on  X'erhulsten's  Island,  up  the  Delaware,  "near 
the  Falls"  (identified  as  Stacy's  Island,  near  Morrisville),  where 
"three  or  four  families  of  Walloons"  remained  for  a  time,  pro- 
curing- furs  from  the  natives. 

We  note,  now,  in  the  year  1626,  an  isolated  fact,  whose 
interest  for  us  wnll  presently  appear.  This  was  the  appointment, 
and  arrival  at  Manhattan  in  that  year.  IMay  4,  of  a  new  Director- 
General,  Peter  Minuit  of  Wesel.  AVe  shall  soon  hear  of  him  in 
our  field.  The  affairs  of  New  Netherland,  including  the  South 
River,  were  under  his  direction  until  the  autumn  of  1632.  It  was 
he  who.  soon  after  his  arrival,  "purchased"  the  island  of  Manhat- 
tan, "eleven  thousand  morgens."  or  aliout  twenty-two  thousand 
acres  of  land,  of  the  Indians  who  had  their  gathering  place  there, 
"for  the  value  of  sixty  guilders."  say  twenty-five  dollars  of  mod- 
ern money. 

Up  to  1 63 1  no  white  man  had  made  a  settlement  on  the  west 
i)a-nk  of  the  Delaware.  In  that  year  there  came  to  the  southern 
cape,  Cornelius,  no^v  Henlopen.  a  party  of  colonists  sent  out  from 
Holland  by  David  Peterson  DeVries.  the  finest  figure  with  whom 
this  story  of  the  pioneer  time  has  to  deal,  a  man  energetic,  humane, 
and  intelligent.  We  learned  little  of  the  Delaware  from  Hen- 
dricksen  and  Mey;  DeVries  will  furnish  us  a  lucid  account. 

DeVries's  party  sailed  from  the  Texel  on  the  12th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1630.  in  the  ship  JValnis,  commanded  by  Captain  Peter 
Heyes,  or  Heyson.  of  Edam.  There  were  on  board  "a  number 
of  people  and  a  large  stock  of  cattle."  They  came  by  the  West 
Indies,  the  common  route  for  ships  in  that  day.  and  arriving  in 
the  early  spring  of  163 1.  landed  near  where  the  town  of  Lewes 
and  the  great  l)reakwater  now  are.  built  a  substantial  house, 
surrounded  it  with  palisades,  and  began  their  settlement.  They, 
intended  to  carry  on  a  whale-fishery,  and  to  cultivate  "all  sorts  of 
grain"  and  tobacco.  A  few  weeks  later,  the  Walrus  sailed  on  its 
return  to  Holland,  and  Gilles  Hosset,  or  Osset,  who  had  come  out 
as  "commissary,"  was  left  in  charge  of  the  colony. 

50 


iV'ter  Stii.vvcsaiu 

noT^p'    °^'^"^V     -^^tlie,  lands    « hen    what    is 


The  Pioneer  \Miite  Men 

This  was  Swanendael — \'alle}-  of  Swans — first  settlement 
undertaken  on  the  west  side  of  Delaware  bay  or  river,  and 
destined,  alas!  to  a  brief  and  disastrous  experience.  The  year 
after  the  settlement  was  made,  DeVries  agreed  with  his  associates 
in  Holland,  the  "patroons"  concerned  in  Swanendael,  to  go  out 
himself.  He  was  now  a  man  of  nearly  forty;  he  had  been  born 
at  Rochelle  in  France,  in  1593.  of  Dutch  parents  who  returned  to 
Hoorn  when  he  was  four  years  old.  His  home  was  at  Hoorn ; 
he  had  married  at  twenty-seven,  or  earlier,  and  had  made  other 
voyages  before  this,  in  which  he  had  proved  his  skill  and  courage. 
With  two  vessels,  a  "yacht."  the  Squirrel,  and  a  larger  ship,  he 
now  left  the  Texel  May  24,  1632,  to  be  in  good  time  at  his  colony, 
for  the  w'inter  fishery.  The  whales,  he  understood,  "came  in  the 
winter,  and  remained  until  ]March." 

As  he  was  leaving  Holland  bad  news  reached  him — that  Swan- 
endael had  been  destroyed  by  the  Indians !  The  expedition  pro- 
ceeded, but  the  voyage  was  long.  Going  by  the  ^ladeira  islands, 
Barbadoes,  St.  ^^incent,  St.  Christopher,  it  was  the  5th  of  Decem- 
ber w'hen  they  reached  Cape  Cornelius,  and  found  the  melancholy 
report  only  too  true !  On  the  6th  he  w^ent  ashore  to  see  the  deso- 
late place.  The  palisaded  house  "was  almost  burnt  up."  "I 
found,"  he  says,  "lying  here  and  there,  the  skulls  and  bones  of  our 
people,  and  the  heads  of  the  horses  and  cows  which  they  had 
brought  with  them."  Xo  Indians  were  visible,  but  "the  business 
being  undone" — as  was  sadly  plain — he  "came  on  board  the  boat, 
and  let  the  gtmner  fire  a  shot  to  see  if  we  could  find  any  trace  of 
them."     The  next  day  some  appeared. 

In  the  conferences  that  followed  De\'ries  obtained  some  ex- 
planation of  the  disaster.  It  seemed  to  have  been  the  result  of 
misunderstanding,  as  is  often  the  case  when  blood  is  shed.  An 
Indian  who  was  induced  to  remain  on  board  the  yacht  all  night  the 
8th  of  December,  rehearsed  the  story.  The  Dutch  had  set  up.  as 
the  sign  of  possession,  a  piece  of  tin,  bearing  the  Netherland  arms. 
An  Indian  carried  off  the  tin  "for  the  purpose  of  making  tobacco 

53 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and  Federal 

pipes."  The  Dutch  complained  of  this,  and  some  one  or  more  of 
the  Indians,  designing,  it  would  appear,  to  enforce  law  and  order 
with  vigor,  put  the  offender  to  death.  Then  his  partisans,  totemic 
brethren,  ho  doubt,  executing  swiftly  the  blood  revenge,  fell  upon 
the  settlers  when  they  were  unsuspecting  and  unprepared,  and  slew 
them  all,  thirty-two  persons.  Was  it  Commissary  Hosset's  fault? 
He  died  with  the  rest.  From  DeV'ries's  report  of  the  Indian's  story 
there  was  no  reason  to  blame  him.     But  the  colony  was  ruined. 

DeVries  did  not  "chastise"  the  natives,  nor  send  out  "punitive 
expeditions ;"  more  bloodshed  would  not  heal  the  wounds  already 
made.  With  a  view  to  future  fishing,  he  exchanged  some  goods 
with  them,  and  made  an  engagement  of  peace.  Then,  taking  six 
men  in  the  Squirrel,  and  leaving  the  ship  at  anchor  inside  the  cape, 
on  the  ist  day  of  January,  1634,^  he  proceeded  up  the  river — on 
his  guard  now,  as  his  narrative  shows,  whenever  an  Indian  was 
met.  On  the  6th  he  was  at  Fort  Nassau,  "the  little  fort,"  he  says, 
"where  formerly  some  families  of  the  \\'est  India  Company  had 
dwelt."  It  was  now  deserted,  except  by  Indians.  Suspicious  of 
these,  he  received  with  extreme  caution  their  overtures  to  trade. 
Some  of  them,  he  mentions,  "began  to  play  tunes  with  reeds,"  and 
speaking  of  a  "canoe"  he  adds,  "which  is  a  boat  hollowed  out  of  a 
tree."  For  four  days  he  remained  near  the  Fort,  always  wary 
and  watchful.  An  Indian  woman,  a  Sankitan,  warned  him  not 
to  haul  his  yacht  into  the  narrow  Timmer-kill,  lest  he  should  be 
surprised  there,  and  told  him  that  not  long  before  the  ]\Iantes,  of 
"Red  Hook"  (our  Red  Bank),  had  "killed  some  Englishmen  who 
had  gone  into  Count  Ernest's  river  in  a  sloop,"  a  story  which 
seemed  supported  when  he  found  some  of  the  Mantes  protected 
against  the  January  cold  by  "English  jackets"  which  they  wore. 
Afterward,  in  Virginia,  he  heard  that  a  party  had  been  sent  from 
there  in  September  to  ex]:)lore  the  river,  and  had  not  returned. 

No  one.  howe\-er,  now  hurt  a  hair  of  the  heads  of  DeVries  or 
his  men.      It  seems  doubtful  whether  the  Indians  had  any  hostile 

'Xew    Style. 

54 


The   Pioneer  ^^^hite  Men 

intent.  They  persisted  in  overtures  for  friendly  trade,  and 
brought  him  beaver-skins  for  presents,  dechning  gifts  from  him, 
because  that  would  make  it  a  mere  exchange.  Eventually  he 
traded  with  them.  "dufTels,  kettles,  and  axes,"  for  ''Indian  corn  of 
various  colors,"  and  some  skins.  On  the  loth  (January;,  he 
drifted  his  yacht  off  on  the  ebb-tide,  anchored  at  noon  "on  the  bar 
at  Jacques  Island,"  and  on  the  i  ith  reached  the  Minquas  kill  (our 
Christiana),  and  on  the  13th  rejoined  his  ship  at  Swanendael. 

A  second  time,  however,  he  ascended  the  river.  Putting  some 
"goods"  for  trade  into  the  yacht,  he  sailed  again  on  the  i8th,  and 
next  day  came  within  a  mile  of  Jacques  Island,  where  he  hauled 
into  a  creek,  with  two  fathoms  of  water  at  high  tide.  Here  ice 
began  to  trouble  him.  But  he  thought  it  "a  fine  country."  "Many 
vines  grow  wild,  so  that  we  gave  it  the  name  of  W'yngaert's  Kill." 
"Went  out  daily  while  here."  he  adds,  "to  shoot.  Shot  many  wild 
turkeys  weighing  thirty  to  thirty-six  pounds.  Their  great  size 
and  fine  flavour  are  sur])rising.  We  were  frozen  up  in  this  kill 
from  the  19th  (January)  to  the  3d  of  February.  During  this 
time  we  percei\ed  no  Indians,  though  we  saw  here  and  there  at 
times  great  fires  on  the  land,  but  we  saw  neither  men  nor  canoes, 
because  the  river  was  closed  by  the  ice." 

Jacques  Island  has  been  identified  as  Little  Tinicum.  opposite 
the  greater  Tinicum  which  is  part  of  Delaware  county.  The  kill 
in  which  he  lay  was  therefore  Ridley,  or  perhaps  Chester,  creek. 
In  either  case  we  have  here  a  visit  to  Pennsylvania  made  definite, 
and  the  land  itself  described. 

(ietting  clear  of  ice  on  February  3d.  they  sailed  once  more  up 
to  the  Fort,  but  found  no  one.  white  or  red.  It  "l)egan  to  freeze 
again."  so  a  second  time  De\^ries  took  the  Squirrel  to  the  west 
shore  for  shelter.  They  "hauled  into  a  little  kill  o\-er  against  the 
Fort,"  a  stream  which  must  have  been  \\  ithin  the  present  limits  of 
Philadelphia,  perhaps  Hollander's  Creek.  Here  they  lay  until  the 
14th.  For  several  days  no  Indians  came,  except  one  woman,  who 
brought  maize  and  beans,  «)f  which  DeVries  bought  "a  parcel." 

55 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

But  on  the  nth  Indians  appeared — and  an  ill-looking  party! 
They  came  across  the  river  from  the  Fort,  on  the  ice,  pulling  their 
canoes.  There  were  "full  fifty"  of  them,  and  they  proved  to  be 
not  the  natives  of  the  region  about,  but  dangerous  strangers,  a 
war-party  of  "Minquas,''  who,  DeVries  says,  "dwell  among  the 
English  of  \'irginia"' — probably  our  Susquehannocks,  whose  hab- 
itat he  was  unable  to  know  ver}'  exactly.  He  says  they  were  "six 
hundred  strong ;"  but  perhaps  this  means  the  fighting  strength  of 
the  tribe,  not  of  this  particular  war-party.  DeVries  feared  they 
meant  him  ill,  and  regarded  his  escape  from  them,  which  he  pre- 
sently effected,  as  a  deliverance  to  be  thankful  for — all  the  more 
when  on  the  13th  three  neighboring  Indians  came  timidly  to  him, 
and  related  their  sufferings  at  the  hands  of  the  Minquas.  Ninety 
of  the  Sankikans,  they  said,  had  been  killed  by  them.  Next  day 
the  weather  was  milder,  the  ice  in  the  kill  and  river  softened,  and 
DeVries  was  glad  to  get  the  Squirrel  out  and  away  toward  the 
capes.  On  the  20th  he  reached  there,  safely,  and  soon  after  sailed 
for  Virginia. 

"This  is  a  very  fine  river,"  he  says  in  his  account,  "and  the 
land  all  beautifully  level,  full  of  groves  of  oak,  hickory,  ash  and 
chestnut  trees,  and  also  vines  which  grow  upon  the  trees.  The 
river  has  a  great  plenty  of  fish,  the  same  as  those  in  our  father- 
land, perch,  roach,  pike,  sturgeon,  and  similar  fish.  .  .  .  We 
fished  once  with  our  seine,  and  caught  at  one  draught  as  many  as 
thirty  men  could  eat.  ...  In  winter  time,  from  Virginia  to 
Swanendael,  there  are  hundreds  of  thousands  of  geese,  both  gray 
and  white.  The  country  is  also  full  of  wild  turkeys,  and  has  a 
great  many  deer." 

Five  years  lay  between  the  departure  of  DeVries  and  the 
arrival  of  the  Swedes.  In  these  years  the  Dutch  continued  their 
trade  on  South  River,  practically  undisturbed.  Controversies 
between  the  West  India  Company  and  some  of  its  prominent 
members,  the  "patroons" — Van  Rensselaer,  and  others — over  the 
great  grants  of  manorial  lands  w^hich  the  latter  had  secured  on  the 

S6 


^il^^'^^'^^H' 

V  W                  1    i                   ^^^H 

\g^«| 

'^^is^%  1 

1                                                                  -rjr 

^Bjm. 

^H^niJ^I 

Henry  Hudson 


Navigator;  entered  what  is  now  Delaware  hay 
August  28,  1609;  discovered  the  river  called 
Hudson  September  3,  1609:  discovered  bay 
bearing  his  name  16 10.  No  authentic  portrait 
of  Hudson  exists,  but  the  above  is  generally 
believed  to  be  a  correct  likeness 


The  Pioneer  White  Men 

Hudson  and  else\\here.  and  on  which  lliey  claimed  freedom  of 
trade  with  the  Inchans,  in  competition  with  the  Company,  caused 
the  recall  of  Minuit  to  Holland.  He  left  Manhattan  in  the  spring 
of  1632,  and  his  successor,  Wouter  \'an  Twiller,  did  not  arrive 
for  a  year.  It  was  in  this  interval  of  authority  that  the  South 
River  was  neglected,  and  Fort  Nassau  left,  as  DeVries  found  it, 
unoccupied.  Van  Twiller,  however,  when  he  reached  Manhattan, 
soon  sent  over  a  new  "Commissary."  Arent  Corssen.  who  arrived 
within  a  few  weeks  after  the  departure  of  DeVries.  He  was  in- 
structed to  build  a  new  house,  and  make  repairs,  and  furthermore 
to  establish  a  hold  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river,  where  it  was  now 
plain  that  trade  with  the  Indians  of  the  interior  must  naturally 
centre. 

That  the  Commissary  made  such    a    purchase    in  that  year, 

1633,  on  the  west  bank,  where  Philadelphia  now  stands,  was 
claimed  afterward  by  the  Dutch.  They  produced  in  1648  a  deed 
of  confirmation,  by  which  Amatehooran,  Sinquees,  and  five  other 
Indians  declared  they  had  previously  sold  "the  Schuylkill  and  ad- 
joining lands"  to  Corssen.  On  the  ground  thus  acquired.  Fort 
Beversrede,  which  will  be  mentioned  hereafter,  was  said  to  have 
been  built. 

While  the  Dutch  held  the  trade  of  the  river,  they  were  not 
without  visitors.  Two  of  these.  Englishmen.  Captain  Thomas 
Vong,  or  Young,  and  his  nephew,  Robert  Evelin.  came  in  July, 

1634,  in  a  ship  which  had  left  Falmouth,  in  England,  in  May. 
Their  voyage  appears  connected  with  the  curious  episode  of  the 
grant  of  "New  Albion"  to  Sir  Edmund  Plowden,  by  Charles  I., 
and  this  story  may  as  well  be  related  here.  In  many  of  our  his- 
tories Sir  Edmund  appears  as  a  mythical  personage,  a  sort  of 
l)len(ling  of  Baron  Munchausen  and  Don  Quixote,  yet  he  was  a 
man  of  actual  flesh  and  blood,  and  the  facts  ascertained  concerning 
him  can  l)e  plainly  told.  He  was  of  a  family  in  Shropshire, 
Catholics,  and  about  the  time  that  Charles  I.  gave  Lord  Baltimore 
the  ]^Iaryland  grant,  Imt  a  little  later,  he  gave  to  Plowden  a  grant 

59 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

also  of  a  "county  palatine,"  \'agTiely  described,  but  interpreted  to 
mean  a  tract  lying  between  Maryland  and  the  Hudson  River, 
partly  the  country  then  held  by  the  Dutch.  It  Ayould  have  in- 
cluded, apparently,  the  ^yhole  of  the  Dela\yare  region,  and  most  of 


Portrait  of  Charles  II 

On  charter  granted  to  Penn;  King  of  England, 
1660-1685 

New  Jersey.  A  patent,  in  Latin,  making  this  grant,  is  on  record 
in  Dublin,  witnessed  by  the  Deputy-General  for  Ireland,  June  21, 
1634. 

It  is  presumed  that  Sir  Edmund  Plowden  was  then  living  in 
Ireland.  He  was  one  of  the  Catholic  party,  probably,  in  the  con- 
troversies that  were  gathering  about  the  king.  The  grant,  it 
seems,  had  the  royal  privy-seal,  but  never  "passed"  the  great  seal 
of  crown  authority.     Upon  it  Sir  Edmund  assumed,  as  far  as  he 

60 


The  Pioneer  White  Men 


could,  the  dignities  of  a  "lord  palatine/'  and  formed  and  an- 
nounced large,  if  vague,  plans,  hi  1641,  "Master  Robert  Eve- 
lin,"  who  had  been  to  the  Delaware  with  Vong,  in   1634,  pub- 


William  Penn's  autograph  and  seal  on  the  Charter  of  1683 

lished  in  England,  a  "Direction  for  Adventurers,  and  Description 
of  New  Albion,"  in  the  form  of  a  letter  addressed  to  Sir  Edmund's 
wife,  and  in  1648  this  was  republished  in  a  tract,  often  cited  by 
historians.  "Description  of  New  Albion,"  etc.  Evelin  seems  to 
have  desired  to  forward  the  plans  of  Plowden. 

In  1 64 1,  Sir  Edmund  came  to  America,  and  for  seven  years 
stayed  usually  in  Virginia,  coming  to  the  Delaware  district  in  1643 

61 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

certainly,  and  possibly  at  other  times.  His  visit  in  the  year  named 
is  described  particularly  in  a  report  of  Governor  Printz,  then  the 
Swedish  Governor  on  the  Delaware,  who  relates  also  the  narrow 
escape  Plowden  had  from  death  on  an  island  near  Chincoteague. 
where  he  had  been  "marooned''  by  his  ship's  crew.  But  after  all 
nothing  practical  came  of  "New  Albion."  It  was  a  paper  state, 
and  nothing  more.  Plowden  never  established  his  claims,  either 
b}-  law  or  by  force,  and  never  entered  into  possession  of  his  county 
palatine.  Of  all  the  many  settlers  whom  he  alleged  to  be  on  the 
way  to  occupy  it,  of  all  the  lords,  ladiqs,  knights,  gentlemen,  and 
adventurers  who,  he  professed,  had  resolved  to  remove  hither, 
none  actually  appeared.  In  1648  he  returned  to  England,  and  in 
1655  he  made  his  will,  in  which  he  called  himself  "of  Wansted,  in 
the  county  of  Southampton."  and  also  "Lorde,  Earle  Palatine. 
Governour.  Captaine  Generall  of  the  province  of  New  Albion  in 
America" — phrases  which  did  no  one  any  harm,  and  made  the 
wording  of  the  will  sound  more  impressive.  In  1659  he  died,  but 
as  late  as  the  period  of  the  American  Revolution  some  infatuated 
persons  thought  they  might  secure  land  in  New  Jersey  on  the 
basis  of  his  "palatine"  grant. 

W'e  return,  now,  to  Yong  and  Evelin.  and  their  visit  in  1634. 
It  is  strongly  suggested  by  all  the  circumstances  that  this  was  a 
voyage  to  spy  out  the  land  in  the  interest  of  Sir  Edmimd  Plowden. 
The  dates  point  to  this.  In  September,  1633.  Charles  I.  had  given 
Yong  a  sort  of  "roving  commission"  to  go  forth  and  discover 
lands  in  America,  not  "actually  in  the  possession  of  any  Christian 
prince."  Coming  first  to  the  Chesapeake.  Captain  Yong  appeared 
at  the  Delaware  capes  on  the  24th  of  July,  1634.  He  may  have 
been  unaware  of  the  extent  of  the  Dutch  occupation,  and  very 
possibly  may  have  heard  rumors  of  the  abandonment  of  Eort 
Nassau ;  at  any  rate,  he  seems  to  have  thought  the  region 
answ'ered  the  description  of  his  commission.  He  renamed  the 
river  Charles,  after  the  king.  Sailing  slowly  up.  he  and  his  com- 
panions were  at  the  Schuylkill  on  the  22d  of  August,  remaining 

62 


The   Pioneer  \Miite  .Men 

there  five  days,  and  on  the  20th  reached  shoal  water  at  the 
"Falls,''  near  Trenton,  where  they  also  encountered  some  "Hol- 
landers of  Hudson's  River,"  who  were  inclined  not  to  do  them 
violence,  hut  to  impress  them  that  tlie\-  were  trespassers.  Later. 
Evelin  is  said  to  ha\e  explored  the  Xew  Jersey  coast,  and  then 
to  have  returned  and  made  a  further  attempt  to  get  up  the  Dela- 
ware above  the  Falls ;  the  old  idea  of  a  short  passage  to  China  and 
the  Indies  seems  to  have  been  vaguely  in  the  minds  of  himself 
and  his  uncle.  Evelin  was  a  brother  of  George  Evelin,  who  was 
connected  with  Claiborne,  the  Maryland  "rebel,"  in  the  settlement 
and  enterprises  at  Kent  Island  on  the  Chesapeake. 

Captain  Yong  made  a  rejxjrt  to  Secretary  W'indebanke,  in 
England,  of  his  observations  on  this  trip  on  the  Delaware.  He 
thought  it  a  fine  river.  "The  quantity  of  fowle."  he  said,  "is  so 
great  as  can  hardly  be  believed,  wee  tooke  at  one  time  48  par- 
trices  together  as  they  crossed  the  river  chased  by  wild  haw^-s. 
There  are  infinite  numbers  of  wild  pigeons,  blackbirds. 
Turkeys,  Sw^ans,  wild  geese,  ducks,  teals,  w'idgions,  brants,  herons, 
cranes,  &c.,  of  which  there  is  so  great  abundance  as  that  the  rivers 
and  rockes  are  covered  with  them  in  winter     .  .      for  my 

part  I  am  confident  that  the  River  is  the  most  healthfull,  fruitful 
and  commodious  River  in  all  the  north  of  America  to  be  planted." 

One  of  the  vague  and  shadowy  stories  connected  with  Yong 
and  Evelin  is  that  they  built,  or  began  to  build,  a  fort  on  the  Dela- 
ware, at  a  place  called  by  them  "Eriwomock."  In  the  "Xew  Al- 
bion" description  of  1648  it  is  said  that  the  Dutch,  "hearing  that 
Captain  ^'oung  and  Master  Evelin  had  given  over  [abandoned] 
their  fort,  begun  at  Eriwomeck,"  etc..  etc.  From  the  descrip- 
tion, historians  of  Xew  Jersey  would  place  the  fort  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  river,  at  the  mouth  of  Pensaukin  creek,  near  Camden. 
A  more  probable  site  is  on  the  west  si<le.  within  the  jiresent  limits 
of  Philadelpliia.  That  it  existed  at  all  is  (|uestionable;  that  it 
had  no  infiuence  of  importance  upon  the  course  of  afTairs  on  the 
Delaware  i§  quite  certain. 

63 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

Some  of  Evelin's  descriptions  are  of  interest.  He  speaks  in 
high  praise  of  the  abundant  wild  life  on  the  bay  and  river.  "I 
saw  there,"  he  says,  "an  infinite  variety  of  bustards,  swans,  geese 
and  fowl,  covering  the  shoares,  as  within  the  like  multitude  of 
pigeons,  and  store  of  turkies,  of  which  I  tried  one  to  weigh  forty 
and  sixe  pounds.     There  is  much  variety  and  plenty  of  delicate 


Arms  of  Penn 

perch  and  sea-fish,  and  shell-fish,  and  whales,  or  grampus;  elks, 
deere  that  bring  forth  three  young  at  a  time.  .  .  The  barren 
grounds  have  four  kindes  of  grapes  and  many  mulberries,  with 
ash,  elms,  and  the  tallest  and  greatest  pines  and  pitch  trees  that  I 
have  seen.  There  are  cedars,  cypresse,  and  sassafras,  with  wild 
fruits,  pears,  wild  cherries,  pine-apples,  and  the  dainty  parseme- 
nas," — persimmons,  no  doubt. 

He  made  an  estimate  of  the  number  of  Indians  on  the  Dela- 
ware. 'T  do  account,"  he  says,  "all  the  Indians  to  be  eight  hun- 
dred, and  are  in  several  factions,  and  war  against  the  Susquehan- 
nocks,  and  are  all  extreme  fearfull  of  a  gun,  naked  and  unarmed 

64 


The   Pioneer  White  Men 

against  our  shot,  swords,  and  pikes.  .  .  Since  my  return 
eighteen  Swedes  are  settled  there,  and  so  [also]  sometimes  six 
Dutch  doe  in  a  boat  trade  without  fear  of  them."  He  thought  it 
needless  to  build  a  fort,  "where  there  is  no  enemy,"  and  in  refer- 
ence to  the  danger  from  the  Indians  adds:  *'for  note  generally 
twelve  English,  with  five  foot  calivers,  shoot  thirty  pellets,  or 
dagge  shot,  and  fifty  yards'  distance,  and  the  naked  Indian  shoot- 
eth  but  one  arrow,  and  not  thirty  yards'  distance.  .  .  And 
therefore  fair  and  far  off  is  best  with  Heathen  Indians ;  and  fit  it  is 
to  reduce  all  their  trading  Posts  or  Palisadoed  trucking-houses, 
and  to  kill  all  straglers  and  such  spies  without  ransome."  Which 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  Indians  had  no  need  to  wish  to 
exchange  their  Dutch  neighbors  for  the  company  of  Master 
Evelin ! 

More  alarming  to  the  Dutch  than  the  visit  of  Yong  and  Evelin, 
or  the  claims  of  Sir  Edmund  Plowden,  was  a  demonstration  of 
force  from  Virginia.  DeV^ries,  when  he  left  the  Delaware  in 
1633,  went  to  Jamestown,  and  there  in  conversation  with  the  Gov- 
ernor, Sir  John  Harvey,  probably  disclosed  what  he  had  found — 
or  not  found — at  Fort  Nassau.  The  consequence  was  that  two 
years  later  the  acting  governor  of  Virginia,  Captain  West,  thought 
it  a  good  move  to  send  and  seize  the  river.  In  August,  1635,  he 
dispatched  an  armed  party,  about  fifteen  men,  from  Old  Point 
Comfort,  under  Captain  George  Holmes,  who  reached  Fort  Nas- 
sau, found  it  practically  or  entirely  undefended,  and  summarily 
took  possession.  One  of  the  party,  however,  deserted,  and  hurry- 
ing across  country,  bore  the  startling  news  to  Manhattan.  Van 
Twiller  perceived  the  critical  situation  and  sent  an  armed  vessel 
with  a  sufficient  force,  who  promptly  retook  the  place.  Holmes 
and  his  men  were  carried  prisoners  to  Manhattan,  and  thence 
were  sent  back  to  Virginia  just  in  time  to  stop  a  second  party 
coming  to  reinforce  them  at  Fort  Nassau. 

Had  England  not  been,  at  this  moment,  in  the  political  dis- 
tractions which  preceded  her  Civil  W^ar,  these  occasional  spyings 

i-s  65 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

and  surprises  woiikl  have  taken  a  more  definite  and  systematic 
form.  When  Minuit  went  home  from  Manhattan  in  1632,  his 
ship  was  driven  by  bad  weather  into  the  English  port  of  Ply- 
mouth. There  she  was  seized  upon  the  charge  of  illegal  trading 
within  the  dominions  of  King  Charles.  After  earnest  protesta- 
tions from  the  Dutch,  and  negotiation  for  several  weeks, 
the  ship  was  released,  but  the  English  ministry  then  de- 
clared that  England  claimed  the  region  occupied  by  the  Dutch, 
upon  a  title  derived  from  "first  discovery,  occupation  and  posses- 
sion," that  she  regarded  title  from  the  Indians  as  of  no  value,  they 
not  being  "bona  fide  possessors"  of  the  land,  capable  of  making  a 
conveyance  for  it.  The  Dutch  were  flatly  told  that  if  they  would 
"submit  themselves  as  subjects"  to  His  Majesty,  they  might  re- 
main in  New  Netherland.  but  that  otherwise  his  interests  would 
not  permit  them  to  "usurp  and  encroach  upon"  his  colonies. 

This  was  notice  that  at  a  convenient  season — which  in  time 
came — the  stronger  pow-er  would  oust  the  weaker.  The  claim  of 
original  discovery,  from  the  dubious  voyages  of  the  Cabots,  cov- 
ered a  vast  deal  of  ground  in  England's  interest. 

And  here  we  may  close  this  period  of  discovery  of  the  Dela- 
ware. We  have  seen  the  river  in  the  possession  of  its  native 
people,  and  we  have  seen  the  east  bank  occupied  by  the  Dutch 
pioneers,  with  an  abortive  attempt  to  occupy  the  west  bank.  At 
the  end  of  1637  practicallv  nothing  had  been  done  toward  actual 
settlement  and  cultivation ;  the  Holland  people  had  come  for 
trade,  and  that  only.     A  new  period  of  development  was  at  hand. 


66 


chaptj-:k  III 

THE  SWEDES:  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENT  IN   PENNSYLVANIA.— 

1 638- 1 655 

SI^XJJlXG  out  her  first  expeditiun  to  the  Delaware  in  1637, 
Sweden  expressed  in  it  the  partial  accomplishment  of  a 
cherished  plan.  Since  1624  she  had  been  desirous  to  se- 
cure a  trade  with  the  Xew  World,  such  as  Spain  had  so  long  pos- 
sessed, and  the  Netherlands  had  lately  been  acquiring.  In  the 
autumn  of  that  year,  at  Gottenberg,  the  king,  Gustavus  Adolphus, 
gave  audience  to  a  somewliat  unpractical  but  very  earnest  adven- 
turer. William  Usselincx,  formerly  a  merchant  of  the  Nether- 
lands, and  the  man  wlio  had  been  there  most  active  in  urging  the 
organization  uf  the  Dutch  West  India  Company.  The  outcome 
of  this  interview  was  the  king's  approval  of  a  Swedish  Company 
for  the  same  general  purpose  as  the  Dutch;  a  commission  issued 
to  Usselincx  authorized  its  organization  ''for  trade  to  Asia, 
Africa,  America,  and  Magellanica." 

In  this  scheme,  indicative  by  its  swelling  phrase  of  the  men 
who  had  designed  it.  the  persistent  though  ruined  Antwerper.  and 
the  generous,  somewhat  romantic  monarch,  lay  the  germ  of  the 
New  Sweden  of  Delaware  and  rennsyhania.  In  1^)28  the  first 
formal  charter  for  the  ''South  Company"  was  granted. 

The  undertaking,  however,  dragged.  Usselincx  wore  out  his 
influence  in  Sweden,  as  he  had  done  in  the  Netherlands,  by  per- 
sistent importunity.  Sweden  was  poor;  the  Thirty  Years'  War 
was  raging;  Swedish  sailors  and  ships  were  few.  and  familiar  only 

67 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

with  neighboring-  seas ;  at  the  death  of  Gustavus,  in  November, 
1632,  nothing  of  practical  importance  had  been  accompHshed. 
He  had  indeed  heartily  approved  the  plan ;  if  it  languished  during 
his  absence  in  the  wars  it  revived  when  he  returned  to  Stockholm ; 


Lord  Baltimore  ' 

Proprietor  of  Maryland;  born  about  1582;  died 
1632.  Photographed  especially  for  this  work 
from  an  old  engraving 

he  hoped  to  increase  the  wealth  of  his  country  by  the  profits  of 
exterior  commerce,  and  to  train  at  the  same  time  a  body  of  sea- 
men who  might  even  cope  upon  the  great  oceans  with  those  of 
Spain.  It  was  at  Nuremberg,  in  the  last  of  his  conferences  with 
his  wise  and  trusty  counsellor,  the  Chancellor  Axel  Oxenstiern, 
that  he  considered  afresh  the  whole  plan,  and  expressed  his  ap- 
proval of  a  new  and  enlarged  charter,  designed  to  enlist  the  inter- 
est of  the  North  German  and  other  cities.     Three  weeks  later  he 

68 


The  Swedish   Settlement 

fell  at  Lutzen — at  the  \'ery  time  when  the  ships  of  De\^ries  were 
approaching  the  Delaware. 

Upon  Oxenstiern,  burdened  with  all  the  other  difficult  affairs 
of  Sweden,  devolved  the  execution  of  the  American  scheme. 
Faithful  to  the  thought  of  Gustavus  in  this  as  in  other  particulars, 
he  was  himself  heartily  in  favor  of  it.  Xo  statesman  of  his  time 
viewed  more  sagaciously  the  problem  of  Europe's  relations  with 
the  New  World.  But  the  times  were  unpropitious ;  he  was  forced 
to  w^ait  five  years,  until  practicable  plans  could  be  matured.  Late 
in  the  autumn  of  1637  two  ships  at  last  left  Sweden  for  America. 
They  were  under  the  command  of  Peter  IMinuit.  he  who  had  been 
the  Dutch  company's  director  at  Manhattan  from  1626  to  1632. 
The  expedition  was  bound,  not  to  the  Guinea  Coast,  or  fabulous 
regions  in  the  South  Sea,  but  to  the  South  River.  The  western 
side  of  this  river,  as  Minuit  knew,  had  remained  unoccupied  by 
Europeans  since  the  abandonment  of  the  Colony  of  DeVries  at 
Sw^anendael,  and  he  undoubtedly  knew  and  appreciated  the  ad- 
vantage for  the  Indian  trade  of  occupancy  upon  that  shore. 

The  two  ships  were  the  Kalmar  Nyckel,  a  man  of  w^ar,  and  the 
Gripen,  a  sloop.  The  crew'S  and  cargoes  were  from  Holland ;  of 
the  three-score  persons  in  the  expedition  not  more  than  a  half- 
dozen  were  Swedes.  Capital  for  it  had  been  secured  in  equal 
parts  from  Holland  and  Sweden.  In  the  latter  country  Oxen- 
stiern had  raised  12,000  florins,  and  in  Holland  a  group  of  per- 
sons, headed  by  Minuit  and  Blommaert,  connected  with  Swedish 
interests,  had  provided  a  corresponding  sum.  The  whole  enter- 
prise was  therefore  a  private  venture ;  nothing  of  the  "South  Com- 
pany" of  1626,  or  the  enlarged  company  of  1633,  appeared  in  it. 
except  that  this  was  at  last  a  resolute  effort  to  express  in  action 
something  of  wdiat  had  so  long  been  under  discussion. 

After  leaving  Gottenburg,  baffling  winds  detained  the  ships  in 
the  North  Sea,  but  about  the  end  of  December,  after  having  re- 
fitted and  obtained  more  provisions  at  the  Dutch  port  of  Medem- 
blik,  they  quitted  the  familiar  shores  and  took  the  ordinary  south- 

69 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

eni  route  across  the  Atlantic.  Toward  the  end  of  ^larch  they 
had  entered  the  Delaware.  Though  it  was  scarcely  spring,  the 
river  seemed  beautiful  to  men  who  had  left  the  north  of  Europe 
in  the  depths  of  winter,  and  one  place  at  which  they  briefly  landed, 
perhaps  the  mouth  of  Mispillion  creek,  they  called  "Paradise 
Point."  Passing  on  upward,  they  cast  anchor  at  last  where  a 
large  stream  came  in  on  the  left  hand — the  Minquas-kill  of  the 
Dutch.  Here  the  ships  lay  while  Minuit  went  ashore  to  confer 
with  the  Indians.  He  knew  well,  of  course,  the  story  of  the  catas- 
trophe at  Swanendael,  and  realized  that  abo^•e  all  he  must  avoid 
the  conditions  w^iich  had  caused  it. 

The  Indian  chief  whom  Minuit  now^  met  was  Mattahoorn,  the 
same  who  has  been  mentioned  as  joining  in  the  conveyance  of  the 
lands  on  Schuylkill  to  Corssen,  the  Dutch  agent.  Apparently  he 
was  the  principal  sachem  of  the  region.  He  had  his  lodge  near 
the  Minquas-kill.  He  claims  our  remembrance  both  because  he 
seems  to  have  been  a  worthy  character,  and  because  he  is  practi- 
cally the  only  one  of  the  Lenape  distinguishable  by  name  before 
the  time  of  Penn.  Other  Indians  of  the  Delaware  in  the  early 
period  are  a  mass,  in  which  none  has  individuality. 

Mattahoorn  was  probably  an  elderly  man.  He  was  living, 
however,  thirteen  years  later,  for  he  joined  in  a  Council  held  at 
Fort  Nassau,  in  July,  165 1,  by  Stuyvesant,  the  Dutch  governor. 
It  is  possible  that  Minuit,  from  his  acquaintance  with  the  trade 
on  the  South  River  during  his  administration  at  Manhattan,  may 
have  had  some  previous  knowledge  of  the  chief.  There  was  no 
difficulty  in  concluding  an  agreement.  ]\Iinuit  explained  what  he 
wanted — ground  on  wdiich  to  build  a  "house,"  and  other  ground 
on  which  to  plant.  For  the  former  he  offered  "a  kettle  and  other 
articles,"  for  the  latter  half  the  tobacco  raised  upon  it.  Matta- 
hoorn seems  to  have  yielded  cheerfully,  as  the  Indians  generally 
did  until  they  began  to  see  that  land  taken  by  the  whites  passed 
from  common  enjoyment  into  private  and  exclusive  use.  The 
land  for  the  planting  was  defined  to  be,  as  Mattahoorn  afterward 

70 


The  Swedish   Settlement 

said,  that  bounded  "within  six  trees" — marked,  no  doubt,  by  the 
surveyor,  as  'Mine  trees.''  Thereupon  the  ships  came  up  the  kill, 
which  later  became  known  as  the  Christina,  in  honor  of  the  girl 
queen  at  Stockholm,  and  passing  on  the  right  hand  the  mouth  of 
a  clear  and  rapid  stream,  the  Brandywine  of  our  day,  reached  a 
natural  wharf  of  rocks  and  fast  land  which  rose  from  the  lower 
ground,  and  formed  a  landing-place  so  bold  that  the  ships  came 
alongside  in  deep  water.  Here  they  disembarked  all  that  was 
intended  to  remain,  and  the  erection  of  a  place  of  security,  which 
Minuit  named  Fort  Christina,  was  quickly  begun.  The  time  was 
the  beginning  of  .\]M-il ;  it  was  alike  the  seasou  for  planting  and 
for  trade  with  the  Indians  for  the  skins  of  animals  taken  during 
the  winter.    As  t<  >  this.  Minuit  had  carried  out  his  plans  effectively. 

Reports  of  the  new  arrivals  on  the  river  quickly  reached  the 
Dutch.  Fort  Nassau  was  at  this  time  occupied,  and  the  Commis- 
sary there  sent  his  assistant,  Peter  Mey.  to  observe  Minuit's  oper- 
ations. Mey  accomplished  little.  Minuit.  according  to  his  re- 
port, said  he  was  on  a  West  Indian  voyage,  and  was  getting  wood 
and  water.  Shortlv  after,  when  the  up-river  obser\-ers  uiade  a 
second  visit,  they  found  the  strangers  remaining,  and  that  they 
had  made  a  garden,  in  which  plants  were  set  out:  while  ui:)on  a 
third  visit,  they  had  "made  a  settlement."  and  Imilt  a  fort.  These 
reports,  covering  little  more  than  a  month,  show  the  order  and  the 
promptitude  of  Minuit's  proceedings. 

There  was  now  a  new  Director-General  at  Manhattan.  W'illem 
Kieft.  successor  to  \^an  Twiller.  He  had  reached  his  seat  of 
government  nearly  at  the  time  the  Swedes  came  to  Min(|uas-kill. 
his  sliip.  the  Herring,  an  armed  vessel  belonging  to  the  West 
India  Company,  arriving  on  the  28th  of  March. ^  Kieft  was  nat- 
urally disturbed  over  this  intrusion.  He  wrote  on  the  28th  of 
A])ri]  to  the  Company  in  Holland,  reporting  the  situation.  .A 
few  days  later,  probably  May  6.  he  addressed  to  Minuit  a  formal 

'This  is  the  Dutch  date,  and  is  "Xew 
Style."  In  the  Swedish  calendar,  it  would 
have   been   March    i8. 

71 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

protest  against  his  settlement,  declaring  that  both  banks  of  the 
river  belonged  to  the  Dutch.  "The  whole  South  River  in  New 
Netherland,"  he  declared,  "has  been  many  years  in  our  possession, 
and  has  been  secured  by  us  with  forts  above  and  below,  and  has 
been  sealed  with  our  blood,  which  has  happened  even  during  your 
direction  of  New  Netherland,  and  is  well  known  to  you." 

This  claim  by  the  Dutch  to  the  west  bank  was  based,  of  course, 
on  DeVries's  adventure  at  Swanendael.  Minuit  apparently  made 
no  formal  reply,  but  the  practical  answer  was  that  the  settlement 
there  was  wholly  abandoned,  and  that  no  white  man  had  for  over 
six  years  been  living  on  the  west  side  of  the  river.  Paying  no 
attention  to  Kieft,  he  pushed  work  on  his  fort.  He  knew  that  his 
force  was  equal  or  superior  to  any  the  Dutch  could  then  send  from 
Manhattan,  and  that  besides  it  was  not  the  present  policy  of 
Holland  to  offend  a  power  like  Sweden,  whose  generals  and  sol- 
diers were  bearing  the  brunt — as  they  had  done  since  1630 — of 
the  Protestant  cause  in  the  still  continuing  Thirty  Years'  War. 
The  fort  was  regularly  laid  out  by  Mans  Kling,  a  Swede  and  an 
engineer,  who  was  apparently  second  in  command,  and  was  called 
Fort  Christina.  So  it  continued  to  be  known  until  Stuyvesant's 
bloodless  siege  and  capture,  seventeen  years  later. 

Minuit  proceeded  energetically  to  other  work.  One  or  two 
log-houses  were  built.  The  goods  for  the  Indian  trade  were 
landed.  A  store  of  Indian  corn  and  meat  was  collected.  A 
second  treaty  with  the  Indians  for  the  purchase  of  land  was  made, 
extending  down  the  river  and  bay,  and  northward  as  far  as  the 
Falls  at  Trenton.  Posts  were  set  up  with  the  letters  declaring 
the  Swedish  Queen's  sovereignty,  "C  R.  S."  The  Gripen  was 
sent  to  Virginia  to  dispose  of  her  cargo,  but  being  refused  per- 
mission to  do  so,  returned  still  laden,  though  she  was  allowed  to 
stay  ten  days  to  procure  wood  and  water.  By  midsummer  Minuit 
was  ready  to  return  to  Europe.  On  July  31,  Kieft  wrote  to  the 
Companv,  "He  has  departed  with  the  two  vessels  he  had  with 
him." 

■  72 


The  Swedish  Settlement 

Twenty-four  persons  in  all  were  left  at  Christina.  They  were 
under  the  command  of  Mans  Kling,  with  Hendrik  Huyghen  as 
"commissary,"  to  conduct  the  trade  with  the  Indians.  The  party 
thus  formed  the  first  permanent  settlement  by  white  men  on  the 
Delaware  bav  or  river,  on  either  side.     It  was  the  beginning  of 


Calvert  Arms 

what  is  now  a  large  and  prosperous  city,  and  the  kernel  as  well  of 
a  sovereign  State. 

The  labors  of  Minuit  closed  here.  He  had  sent  the  Gripcn 
first  to  the  West  Indies;  he  followed  himself  in  the  Kalmar 
Nyckel.  Reaching  St.  Kitts,  he  sold  his  merchandise,  bought 
tobacco,  and  was  on  the  eve  of  sailing  for  Sweden,  when  a  hurri- 
cane burst  upon  the  roadstead  and  drove  all  ships  out  to  the  open 
sea.  He,  as  it  chanced,  had  been  visiting  on  board  a  Dutch  vessel, 
the  Flying  Deer,  and  this  was  lost.  Neither  it  nor  he  was  ever 
seen  again.     The  Kalmar  Nyckel  rode  out  the  storm,  and  came 

73 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

back  for  him.  but  in  \aiii.  (living"  him  up  at  last,  she  was  forced 
to  resume  her  liomeward  voyage. 

New  Sweden,  at  tlie  very  outset,  thus  suffered  a  hard  stroke  of 
fortune.  Alinuit  was  a  capal)le  leader.  He  was  mtich  the  ablest 
man  who  had  yet  been  sent  to  the  South  River,  unless  we  except 
DeVries,  and  as  Director-General  at  Manhattan  he  had  proved 
himself  superior  to  either  \^an  Twiller  or  Kieft.  He  had  been 
born,  probably  about  1580.  at  W'esel.  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Rhine,  and  hence  w'as  a  man  nearly  sixty  years  old  at  his  death. 

The  Kalinar  Nyckcl  had  a  long  voyage  home.  Going  first  to 
Holland,  she  did  not  reach  Gottenbtu'g  until  Jiuie  of  the  following 
year,  1639.  with  her  tobacco.  Meantime  the  Gripen  had  sold  her 
cargo  in  the  West  Indies,  had  returned  to  Christina,  loaded  there 
the  furs  which  Huyghen  had  secured,  and  after  a  marvellously 
quick  voyage  of  five  weeks  had  returned  to  Gottenburg"  in  May. 

The  Swedish  colony  on  the  Delaware,  the  "New^  Sweden"  to 
which  so  many  hopes  and  endeavors  had  been  given,  had  a  life- 
time of  but  seventeen  }'ears- — 1638  to  1655.  Yet  it  was  of  large 
importance,  because  it  was  the  actual  and  systematic  beginning  of 
the  life  of  white  people  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Delaware.  And 
out  of  it  came  the  first  planting  of  Pennsylvania.  A  year  before 
William  Penn  was  born,  the  Swedes  had  already  begun  the  settle- 
ment of  the  State  which  was  to  bear  his  name. 

We  know  little  with  certainty  as  to  the  individuals  who  com- 
posed the  company  of  twenty-four  whom  Minuit  left  at  Christina. 
Two  of  them.  Mans  Kling,  the  engineer,  and  Hendrik  Huyghen, 
the  commissary,  have  already  been  mentioned.  Kling  became 
later  a  familiar  figure  on  the  Delaware,  and  Huyghen  we  shall 
meet  again.  Ten  others  have  been  identified  who  came  either 
with  Minuit  or  two  years  later,  1640,  in  the  "Second  Expedition" 
from  Sweden,  ^^'e  shall  speak  of  six  of  them  here.  They  de- 
mand our  attention,  because  a  little  later  they  had  their  homes  up 
the  Delaware  fr*)m  Christina,  north  of  the  Pennsylvania  line,  and 
hence  were  among  the  first  white  settlers  in  Pennsylvania. 

74 


The  Swedish   Settlement 

One  of  the  nnml)er  was  Anders  Svensson  Bonde.  He  was 
l)oi-n  in  Sweden  in  1620,  and  so  was  hut  eighteen  if  he  came  with 
Minuit.  or  twenty  if  he  came  in  1640.  In  1644.  the  records  show, 
he  was  at  Tinicuni.  in  what  is  now  Delaware  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, employed  in  "making  hay  for  the  cattle"'  and  in  sailing  the 
Governor's  "little  yacht."  In  1648  he  was  gunner  at  the  fort. 
New  Gottenburg,  which  Printz  built  on  Tinicum  Island,  and  in 
1680  he  was  living  at  "Kingsess" — Kingsessing — in  what  is  now 
West  Philadelphia.  On  the  first  Tax  List  of  Philadelphia 
countv,  i^>93.  he  appears  as  the  richest  man  west  of  the  Schuyl- 
kill. He  lived  probably  until  1696,  a  widow.  Anneka.  and  six 
sons  and  four  daughters  surviving  him.  His  descendants  changed 
the  family  name  to  Boon. 

Peter  Andersson  was  engaged  similarly  with  Bonde.  in  1644 
and  1648.  Anders  Larsson  Daalbo,  was  in  1644  cultivating  to- 
bacco for  the  Swedish  Company,  on  a  plantati(tn  "near  the 
Schuvlkill."  Sven  Larsson  was  engaged  in  1644  similarly  to 
Daalbo. 

Peter  Gunnarsson  Rambo  was  cultivating  tobacco  for  the 
Company  in  1644,  in  Christina,  and  came  later  into  Pennsylvania. 
He  held  several  offices  under  the  Dutch  and  English  governments 
on  the  Delaware,  and  died  in  Philadelphia  county  in  1698.  being, 
it  is  said,  the  last  survivor  of  those  who  came  in  the  first  two 
Swedish  expeditions,  1638  and  1640.  He  had  four  sons  and  two 
daughters,  all  of  whom  married  and  left  descendants. 

Sven  Gunnarsson  is  a  notable  figure.  He  was  occupied  as 
Rambo,  in  1644,  but  he  and  his  three  sons,  known  as  Swensons, 
later  Swansons.  obtained  in  1664  from  Alexander  d'Hinojossa, 
then  the  Dutch  Governor  on  the  Delaware,  a  patent  for  land  above 
Movamensings-kill.  within  the  present  city  of  Philadelphia — at 
Wicaco,  after  called  Soutliwark.  These  Swansons  are  well 
known  figiu'es  in  the  early  history  of  Philadelphia.  Their  cabins 
were  standing  at  Wicaco  when  Penn  came  in  1682.  though  the 
father  had  died  a  little  earlier.      He.  when  he  came  to  the  Dela- 

75 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

ware,  in  1638  or  1640,  was  probably  accompanied  by  his  wife,  and 
if  so  she  was  the  first  white  woman  who  came  to  Hve  permanently 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Delaware. 

The  fur  trade  engaged,  of  course,  the  early  efforts  of  the 
Christina  settlers.  They  planted,  the  first  year,  we  may  be  sure, 
or  even  the  second,  very  little.  By  peaceable  means  they  drew 
the  trade  of  the  Indians  of  the  region,  and  doubtless  of  those  on 
the  Susquehanna.  Their  Dutch  neighbors  and  competitors  at 
Fort  Nassau  watched  them  with  increasing  dissatisfaction.  The 
reports  sent  to  Manhattan,  and  thence  by  Governor  Kieft  to  Hol- 
land, tell  a  doleful  story  of  the  early  success  of  the  Swedes  in 
capturing  the  trade.  The  injury  done  the  first  year  to  the  Dutch, 
Kieft  writes  in  one  letter,  is  thirty  thousand  florins ;  in  another  he 
flatly  says  that  the  Company's  trade  in  South  River  is  "entirely 
ruined.''  He  charges  the  Swedes  with  paying  higher  prices,  with 
giving  presents,  and  in  general  with  out-doing  the  traders  at  Fort 
Nassau. 

Meanwhile  the  Swedes  looked  for  another  ship  from  home. 
It  was  two  years  before  one  came.  The  Kalniar  Nyckel,  after 
her  bad  news  of  Minuit's  loss  had  been  digested,  had  been  ordered 
to  return,  and  Peter  Hollender,  a  lieutenant,  a  Dutchman,  and 
perhaps  a  "knight,"  since  he  added  "Ridder"  to  his  name,  was 
commissioned  governor  in  Minuit's  place.  But  the  ship  had  many 
detentions,  including  a  leak  and  a  dishonest  captain,  and  it  was 
February  of  1640  before  she  got  away,  and  April  17  of  that  year 
before  she  again  sailed  into  the  Christina.  How  gladly  she  was 
greeted  may  be  imagined.  She  brought,  it  is  believed,  the  first 
minister  of  the  gospel  on  the  Delaware,  the  Rev.  Reorus  Torkillus, 
a  clergyman  of  the  Swedish  Lutheran  church. 

The  rule  of  Peter  Hollender  as  Governor  of  the  Swedes,  and 
so  of  all  others  on  the  West  Bank  of  the  Delaware,  extended  from 
April,  1640,  to  February,  1643,  when  his  successor,  John  Printz, 
arrived.  The  events  of  this  period  may  be  succinctly  stated. 
The  Kalmar  Nyckel,  quickly  loaded  with  furs,  sailed  for  home  in 

76 


David   rictciscn   DcVries 


Leader  of  a  colony  of  traders  and  emigrants 
from  Holland,  who  settled  on  the  Delaware 
river   in    1632 


The  Swedish   Settlement 

May  ( 1640),  and  arrived  in  Jnly.  At  the  beginning  of  Novem- 
ber of  the  same  year  there  arrived  at  Christina,  from  Holland,  the 
ship  Frcdcnhurg,  with  a  comjiany  of  Dutch  colonists,  headed  by 
Jost  de  Boghardt.  They  were  mostly  from  Utrecht,  and  being 
unable  to  agree,  as  it  seems,  with  the  Dutch  West  India  Company, 
had  obtained  permits  and  a  grant  of  privileges  from  the  Swedish 
authorities.  They  settled  south  of  Christina — at  Xew  Castle,  as 
some  think,  perhaps  further  down  the  ri\cr.  in  what  are  now  St. 
George's  and  Appoquinimink  hundreds. 

The  English  again  made  their  appearance  on  the  river  in  1640. 
This  time  they  came  from  Xew  England,  from  the  Colony  of 
New  Haven.  That  young  town  had  large  ambitions  and  corre- 
sponding energy.  One  of  its  citizens,  deorge  Lamberton,  trading 
to  ^^irginia  in  his  bark,  the  Cock,  in  the  winter  of  1638-39.  had 
learned  of  the  fur-trade  of  the  Delaware,  with  which  nothing  at 
New  Haven  could  compare.  It  was  resolved  thereupon  to  make 
a  settlement  on  the  Delaware,  and  late  in  1640.  Captain  Nathaniel 
Turner  was  sent  from  New  Haven  to  open  the  way.  He,  it  is 
said,  and  also  a  little  later  Captain  Lamberton.  already  named, 
secured  land  from  the  always-obliging  Indians,  the  purchase  in- 
cluding much  of  the  east  bank  of  the  bay,  from  Cape  May  north- 
ward. an<l  besides  this  a  tract  at  Passyunk.  within  what  is  now 
Philadelphia.  To  occupy  the  New  Jersey  purchase  a  move  was 
promptlv  made:  a  colony  of  some  sixty  persons  left  New  Haven 
and  settled  at  \^arken"s  kill,  near  the  present  town  of  Salem,  and 
about  the  same  time,  as  the  English  later  claimed.  *'a  fortified 
trading-house  was  built  or  occupied  at  Passyunk."  If  this  latter 
statement  has  validity,  it  would  seem  that  it  might  be  connected 
with  the  alleged  activities  of  Captain  Thomas  Yong  and  Master 
Robert  Evelin,  who  professed,  as  we  ha\e  seen,  to  have  been  Iniild- 
ing  an  English  fort  somewhere  on  the  river.  al)out  1640  or  1641. 
and  perhaps  mav  have  been  concerned  in  some  work  at  Passyunk. 

This  English  enterprise,  however,  did  not  seriously  disturb 
either  the  Dutch  or  Swedes.     It  came  to  an  end  at  \\nrken's  kill 

79 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

in  less  than  three  years,  and  the  Passyunk  enterprise  also  failed. 
We  shall  mention  these  collapses  in  their  proper  place. 

Hollender  wrote  to  Sweden  that  his  people  at  Christina  were 
too  few,  and  that  they  were  little  skilled  in  husbandry  or  handi- 
craft. Indeed  his  letters  to  Chancellor  Oxenstiern  speak  of  them 
with  painful  candor;  "no  more  indifferent  people  are  to  be  found 
in  all  Sweden  than  those  who  are  now  here,"  he  says  in  one  place. 
Perhaps  they  thought  equally  ill  of  him.  We  shall  see,  as  we 
proceed,  that  governors  and  people,  like  schoolmasters  and  schol- 
ars, were  apt  to  see  each  others'  faults  very  distinctly.  An  insuffi- 
cient supply  of  horses  and  cattle  was  one  of  the  troubles  at  Chris- 
tina; we  are  not  to  forget  that  whatever  domestic  animals  they 
had  must  be  brought  in  ships,  either  from  other  American  colonies 
or  from  Europe. 

The  "Third  Expedition"  from  Sweden  (the  Fredenbiirg  with 
her  Dutch  passengers  not  being  counted),  came  to  the  Delaware 
sometime  in  1 64 1.  The  precise  time  seems  obscure.  It  consisted 
of  two  ships,  the  Kalmar  Nyckel  once  more,  and  a  consort,  the 
Charitas.  They  brought  a  considerable  company  of  colonists, 
including  numerous  Finns.  Names  of  some  of  these  colonists 
have  been  preserved.  Among  them  was  Lieutenant  Mans  Kling, 
who  had  gone  home  in  1640,  and  who  was  now  accompanied  by 
his  wife,  and  their  little  child,  and  a  maid.  Another  who  came 
at' this  time  was  Olaf  Persson  Stille,  ancestor  of  a  family  of  dis- 
tinction in  Pennsylvania,  including  the  late  Dr.  Charles  Janeway 
Stille  of  Philadelphia.  He  was  a  settler,  soon,  at  the  mouth  of 
Ridley  creek,  in  Delaware  county. 

The  fourth,  and  the  most  important,  of  the  several  Swedish 
"expeditions"  came  in  1643.  It  may  be  regarded  as  expressing 
the  highest  endeavor  of  the  Swedes.  There  were  again  two  ships, 
the  Fame  and  the  Sivan.  John  Printz,  bearing  a  commission  to 
succeed  Hollender,  was  in  command.  Leaving  Gottenburg  on  the 
first  day  of  November,  1642,  and  taking  the  usual  southern  route, 
they  touched  at  the  island  of  Antigua  to  celebrate  Christmas,  came 

80 


// 


1/  E  LCH I O  A>   M  UHL  E  X /i  E  A'  (, 


Etched  for  this  work  hy   Max  Re 

J-'iiini  a  vnri'  nriiif 


% 


.V 


iV 


The  Swedish  Settlement 

into  Delaware  Bay  in  a  storm  the  following  month,  and  February 
15,  1643,  reached  Fort  Christina. 

Printz,  it  may  be  here  said,  is  the  most  conspicuous  figure,  if 
we  except  Minuit,  connected  with  New  Sweden.  Lively  descrip- 
tions of  him  have  come  down  to  us,  as  we  shall  presently  see.  He 
had  been  an  officer,  a  lieutenant-colonel  of  a  cavalry  regiment 
engaged  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  and  being  charged  with  mak- 
ing an  inadequate  defense  of  the  city  of  Chemnitz — which,  how- 
ever, he  declared  due  to  the  inhabitants — had  been  dismissed  the 
service,  but  afterwards  restored.  His  instructions,  now,  for  the 
Delaware  administration,  were  elaborate.  He  was  to  deal  with 
the  English  at  Varken's  Kill,  and  the  Dutch  at  Fort  Nassau 
peaceably,  if  possible;  to  treat  the  Indians  with  humanity,  protect 
them,  and  "civilize"  them — especially  to  sell  them  goods  at  lower 
prices  than  the  English  or  Dutch.  He  might  choose  his  residence 
.as  he  saw  proper,  at  Cape  Henlopen,  Christina,  or  "Jacques 
Island"  (Tinicum)  ;  but  he  must  particularly  see  that  his  fort 
should  command  the  river,  and  have  a  good  winter  harbor  for 
vessels.  The  sowing  of  grain,  the  planting  of  tobacco,  the  in- 
crease of  cattle,  and  sheep,  the  inspection  of  the  fur-trade,  the 
manufacture  of  salt,  the  culture  of  the  vine,  search  for  metals  and 
minerals,  the  fisheries,  especially  for  whales,  silk-culture,  etc.,  etc., 
were  among  the  many  matters  commended  to  his  attention.  '  "Be- 
fore all,"  he  was  to  see  that  the  worship  of  God  was  maintained, 
taking  "good  measures"  that  the  divine  service  was  "performed 
according  to  the  true  Confession  of  Augsburg,  the  council  of 
Upsal,  and  the  ceremonies  of  the  Swedish  Church." 

How  many  came  with  Printz  it  is  impossible  now  to  say.  His 
company  inchided  his  wife,  their  daughter,  Armgard,  and  a  min- 
ister, the  Rev.  John  Campanius.  The  names  of  some  twenty- 
three  others  have  been  preserved.  Some  were  soldiers,  others 
clerks,  mechanics  and  farm  laborers.  A  large  part  were  from  Fin- 
land. The  opening  of  spring  found  Printz  busily  at  work.  He  lost 
no  time  in  carrying  out  his  instructions.     Proceeding  up  the  river 

1-6  81 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

from  Christina,  he  decided  to  make  the  seat  of  his  authority  at 
Jacques  Island,  the  place  called  by  the  Indians  Tenacong,  and  since 
I'inicum.  Not,  hc^wever.  on  the  island  in  the  stream,  our  "Little 
Tinicum,"  hut  on  the  larger  one  \\liich  is  now  practically  ])art  of 
the  mainland.  Here  he  built  at  once  a  "fort,"  so  called,  of  "heavy 
green  logs,"  laid  "the  one  on  the  other,'"  and  mounted  on  it  four 
brass  cannon.  This  he  called  Nye  (new)  Gottenburg.  He  made 
thus  the  first  settlement  by  white  men  in  Pennsylvania.  Besides 
this,  he  sent  Kling  to  make  a  settlement  on  the  Schuylkill.  "Log 
houses,  strengthened  by  small  stones"  were  built  there,  and  a 
tobacco  plantation  begun.  The  Dutch,  it  is  said,  had  broken  up, 
in  1642,  the  English  post  there,  a  force  sent  across  from  Fort 
Nassau  under  Jan  Jansen  Van  Ilpendam,  the  Commissary,  having 
ejected  the  Englishmen.  Later,  Kling  built  on  the  east  bank  of 
the  Schuylkill,  near  its  mouth,  probably  on  what  was  afterward 
called  Province  Island,  a  small  fort  which  was  called  New  Kors- 
holm.  Of  this  fort  Printz  says  in  his  report,  sent  home  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1647,  that  it  "is  pretty  nearly  ready." 

These  operations  of  Kling.  the  plantation  and  the  fort,  form 
the  first  well-authenticated  occupancy  of  white  men  of  the  site  of 
the  city  of  Philadelphia.  Their  beginnings  date  certainly  from 
the  spring  of  1644;  probably  from  1643. 

Printz,  however,  was  not  content  with  the  forts  already  de- 
scribed. A  third,  called  Elfsborg,  was  built,  in  1643,  at  Varken's 
kill  (Salem)  on  the  east  side  of  the  Delaware,  near  the  post  which 
the  English  colonists  from  New  Haven  had  established.  These 
adventurers  had  not  prospered.  Sickness  had  sorely  beset  them. 
The  Dutch  harassed  them.  The  fur-trade  to  be  secured  in  that 
locality  w^as  small.  And  besides,  the  mosquitoes  tormented  them. 
By  the  end  of  1643.  their  colony  was  practically  broken  up  and 
abandoned.  "Slowly,  through  the  winter  and  spring  of  1643-44, 
the  major  part  of  them  straggled  Iiack  to  New  Haven." 

At  Tinicum  the  Swedish  settlements  now  centered.  The  fort 
at  Christina  was  small,  and  its  situation  gave  it  no  command  of 

82 


The  Swedish  Settlement 

the  Delaware.  That  at  Tinicuni — Xew  (lottenburg — on  the  con- 
trar}-.  dominated  the  river,  and  nearly  destroyed  the  importance 
of  the  Dutch  Fort  Nassau.  In  the  three  or  four  years  following 
Printz's  arrival  Tinicum  gradually  assumed  the  character  of  a 
hamlet.  The  island  was  confirmed  to  him  as  his  personal  estate 
by  the  Swedish  Council  at  Stockholm,  acting  in  the  Queen's  name. 
November  6,  1643,  and  he  built  later,  probably  in  1646,  a  mansion- 
house  for  his  own  residence,  calling  the  place  Printzhof.  A 
church  was  also  built,  which  Campanius  dedicated  September  4, 
1646.  This  was  the  first  house  of  Christian  worship  within  the 
limits  of  Pennsylvania.  Attached  to  it  was  a  burial  ground, 
where  many  of  the  earlier  settlers  were  interred. 

The  situation  on  the  Delaware,  in  the  autumn  of  1643.  is 
described  for  us  by  our  old  friend  DeVries.  It  had  been  ten  years 
since  he  left  the  river,  in  the  spring  of  1633.  He  had  been  mainly 
at  Manhattan,  meanwhile,  and  now,  being  on  a  trading  voyage  to 
Virginia,  his  ship  came  up  the  Delaw^are.     He  says  in  his  journal : 

"The  13th  (October),  sailed  by  Reed  Island,  and  came  to  the 
Verckens-kil,  where  there  was  a  fort  constructed  l)y  the  Swedes, 
with  three  angles,  from  which  they  fired  for  us  to  strike  our  flag. 
The  skipper  asked  me  if  he  should  strike  it.  1  answered  him,  'If 
I  were  in  a  ship  belonging  to  myself,  I  would  not  strike  because  I 
had  been  a  patroon  of  New  Netherland,  and  the  Swedes  were  a 
people  who  came  into  our  ri^•er ;  but  you  come  here  l)y  contrary 
winds  and  for  the  purposes  of  trade,  and  it  is  therefore  proper  that 
you  should  strike."  Then  the  skipper  struck  his  fiag,  and  there 
came  a  small  skiff  from  the  Swedish  fort,  with  some  Swedes  in  it, 
who  inquired  of  the  .skipper  with  what  he  was  laden.  He  told 
them  with  Madeira  wine.  We  asked  them  whether  the  governor 
was  in  the  fort.  They  answered.  No:  that  he  was  at  the  third 
fort  uj)  the  river,  to  which  we  sailed,  and  arrived  at  aliout  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  went  to  the  governor,  who  welcomed 
us.  He  was  named  Cai)tain  Prins.  and  a  man  of  brave  size,  who 
weighed  over  fom-  hundred  pounds.      He  asked  the  skipper  if  he 

83 


Pennsvlvaiiia  Colonial   and   Federal 


had  ever  been  in  this  river  before,  who  said  he  had  not.  How 
then  had  he  come  in  when  it  was  so  fnll  of  shoals?  He  pointed  to 
me,  that  I  had  brong-ht  him  in.  Then  the  governor's  koopman, 
who  knew  me.  and  who  had  been  at  Fort  Amsterdam,  said  that  I 


Augustine  Herman 

A  native  of  Bohemia;  received  a  grant  of  20,000 
acres  of  land  at  head  of  Chesapeake  bay  from 
Lord  Baltimore,  in  1660.  A  surveyor  of  note. 
After  a  painting  by  West 

was  a  patroon  of  Swanendael  at  the  entrance  of  the  Bay,  destroyed 
by  the  Indians  in  the  year  1630,  when  no  Swedes  were  known 
upon  this  river.  He  (the  governor)  then  had  a  silver  mug 
brought,  with  which  he  treated  the  skipper  with  beer,  and  a  large 
glass  of  Rhenish  wine,  which  was  given  to  me.  The  skipper 
traded  some  wines  and  sweetmeats  with  him  for  peltries,  beaver- 
skins,  and  stayed  here  five  days  from  contrary  wnnds.  I  went 
once  to  Fort  Nassau,  which  lies  a  mile  higher  up,  in  which  the 

84 


The  Swedish  Settlement 

people  of  the  West  India  Company  were.  I  remained  there  half 
a  day,  and  took  my  leave  of  them,  and  returned  at  evening  to  the 
Governor  of  the  Swedes. 

"The  19th,  I  went  with  the  governor  to  the  ]\Iinckquas-kil. 
where  their  first  fort  was,  and  where  there  were  some  houses.  In 
this  little  fort  there  were  some  iron  guns.  I  stayed  here  at  night 
with  the  governor,  who  treated  me  well.  In  the  morning,  the 
ship  was  lying  hefore  the  Minckquas-kil.     I  took  my  leave  of  the 


Signature  of  David  Lloyd,  speaker  of  tlie  Assembly.  1694 

governor,  who  accompanied  me  on  board.  We  fired  a  salute  for 
him,  and  thus  parted  from  him;  weighed  anchor,  and  got  under 
sail,  and  came  to  the  first  fort,  which  was  not  entirely  finished ;  it 
was  made  after  the  English  plan,  with  three  angles  close  by  the 
river.  There  were  lying  there  six  or  eight  brass-pieces,  twelve- 
pounders.  The  skipper  exchanged  here  some  of  his  wines  for 
beaver  skins. 

"The  20th  of  October,  took  our  departure  from  the  last  fort, 
or  first  in  sailing  up  the  river,  called  Elsenburg.  The  second  fort 
of  the  Swedes  is  named  Fort  Christina;  the  third,  Xew  Gotten- 
burg." 

Printz  remained  governor  of  New  Sweden  for  more  than  ten 
years.  He  came,  as  we  ha\c  seen,  in  the  spring  of  1643  •  he  went 
back  to  Sweden  in  the  autumn  of  1653.  His  rule  thus  covered 
much  more  than  half  of  the  life  of  the  Swedish  colony.  The 
events  of  his  time  are  of  interest  to  this  history,  in  that  they  show 

85 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

the  beginnings  of  Pennsylvania.  In  this  decade  the  bare  shelters 
of  the  first  comers  became  tolerable  cabins ;  the  slender  stock  of 
horses  and  cattle  increased ;  the  crops  grew  in  amount  and  im- 
portance ;  families  became  "settled,"  and  began  to  feel  that  this 
was  indeed  their  home.  There  was  thus  a  slow  but  definite  evolu- 
tion of  permanent  occupancy. 

Agriculture  had  been  one  of  Printz's  chief  objects,  as  was 
natural  and  reasonable.  He  could  hear  of  no  gold  or  silver  mines, 
nor  of  salt  deposits,  and  he  thought  the  culture  of  silk  doubtful, 
but  he  planted  corn  extensively,  and  after  a  failure  the  first  year 
did  well  with  it.  Tobacco  plantations  were  begun.  Hay  was  cut 
from  the  meadow  lands.  Rye  for  bread  and  for  seed  was  pro- 
cured at  Manhattan,  in  1643,  ^^^d  ^  ^^^  cattle.  In  the  autumn  of 
that  year  rye  was  sown,  and  next  spring  barley ;  the  crop  grew  so 
well  "it  was  delightful  to  behold." 

The  year  1643,  however,  was  on  the  whole  a  hard  one.  The 
little  colony  was  sorely  stricken  by  disease.  No  less  than  nineteen 
of  the  male  population,  a  large  proportion  indeed,  died  that  year. 
"They  had  hard  work  and  but  little  to  eat,"  Printz  said.  Among 
the  dead  was  the  Rev.  Reorus  Torkillus,  the  minister  at  Christina, 
who  died  in  February,  a  few  weeks  before  Printz's  arrival.  Ac- 
cording to  Campanius  he  had  married  since  coming  to  the  Dela- 
ware, and  left  a  widow  and  child. 

In  March.  1644,  the  Fame,  one  of  the  two  ships  which  had 
come  with  Printz.  arrived  a  second  time.  She  brought,  unfor- 
tunately, but  few  colonists.  One  of  them  (he  had  been  here 
earlier,  and  now  returned)  was  Johan  Papegoia.  who  soon  mar- 
ried the  governor's  daughter,  Armgard.  The  Fame  sailed  for 
Sweden  in  June,  taking  a  cargo  of  2,142  beaver  skins,  and  105 
hogsheads  of  tobacco.  Printz  sent  by  her  a  report  of  the  col- 
ony's condition ;  it  had,  he  said,  90  men,  "besides  women  and 
children." 

Indian  troubles  threatened  this  year.  The  shocking  and  un- 
pardonable cruelties  of  Kieft,  the  governor  at  Manhattan,  in  which 

86 


The  Swedish   Settlement 

hundreds  of  the  natives,  up  and  tliAvn  the  Hudson,  and  on  Long 
Island,  of  all  ages  and  hoth  sexes,  were  slain,  disturbed  the 
Indians  far  and  near.  All  along  the  Atlantic  coast  word  spread 
among  them  of  the  cruelty  of  the  new-comers.  In  the  spring  two 
white  soldiers  and  a  laborer  were  killed  on  the  Delaware,  below 
Christina,  and  later  a  Swedish  woman  and  her  husband — he 
English — were  killed  between  'i'inicum  and  Upland.  We  may 
note  this  latter  e\ent  as  the  first  white  blood  shed  in  Pennsylvania 
by  the  Indians.  Printz  assembled  his  people  for  defense  at  Up- 
land (Chester).  The  Indian  chiefs  of  the  region  came  in,  dis- 
owning the  act,  and  desiring  peace.  The  usual  treaty  was  made, 
presents  were  distributed,  and  friendly  relations  were  restored. 

There  was  now  a  long  period  without  a  ship  from  Sweden. 
From  the  Fame's  departure,  in  June,  1644,  until  October,  1646, 
none  came.  It  was  a  trying  time.  Tlie  stock  of  goods  for  trade  was 
exhausted,  and  no  beaver  or  other  skins  could  be  secured  from  the 
Indians.  At  the  beginning  of  winter,  1645,  ^  disaster  occurred. 
On  the  25th  of  November,  late  at  night,  the  fort  at  Tinicum  was 
set  on  fire  by  a  soldier,  and  was  totally  destroyed.  "Not  the  least 
thing"  was  saved,  "except  the  dairy."  "The  people  escaped." 
Printz  wrote,  "naked  and  destitute.  The  winter  immediately  set 
in,  bitterly  cold;  the  river  and  all  the  creeks  froze  up."  so  that  no 
supplies  could  be  had  until  the  middle  of  March,  and  Printz  adds, 
"if  some  rye  and  corn  had  not  been  unthreshed,  I  myself  and  all 
the  people  with  me  on  the  island  would  have  starved  to  death." 

The  want  of  goods  for  trading  not  only  was  unfavorable  as  to 
profits  for  the  Swedes ;  it  diminished  the  respect  of  the  Iijdians 
for  them.  d'o  this  period  may  be  assigned  the  Indian  council  de- 
scribed by  Campanius,  in  which  Mattahoorn  presided,  and  the 
slaughter  of  the  Swedish  settlers  was  considered.  The  sachem 
is  said  to  have  presented  the  question  :  "The  Swedes  dwell  here 
upon  our  land.  But  they  have  no  goods  to  sell  us.  W'e  can  find 
nothing  in  their  stores  that  we  want.  They  have  no  cloth,  red. 
blue,  or  brown.      They  have  no  kettles,  no  brass,  no  lead,  no  gims, 

87 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

no  powder.  The  English  and  Dutch  have  all  sorts  of  mer- 
chandise. Shall  we  go  out  and  kill  all  the  Swedes,  or  shall  we 
allow  them  to  stay?"  The  decision  of  the  council  was  that  the 
Swedes  should  not  be  molested.  They  should  be,  instead,  "good 
friends."  One  warrior  declared,  "We  have  no  complaint  to 
make  of  them.  Presently,  they  will  bring  here  a  large  ship  filled 
wath  all  sorts  of  good  things." 

This  expectation  was  fulfilled  when  at  last,  October  i,  1646, 
the  ship  Golden  Shark  arrived.  She  had  had  a  long  and  stormy 
voyage,  with  much  sickness  on  board.  She  brought  few  colo- 
nists, but  her  cargo  was  a  good  one.  No  time  was  lost  in  notify- 
ing the  Indians.  Huyghen,  the  commissary,  with  Van  Dyck,  a 
sergeant,  and  eight  soldiers,  was  dispatched  by  Printz  "to  the 
country  of  the  Minquas."  This  was  "five  German  miles"  dis- 
tant. "All  sorts  of  presents"  were  given  the  Minquas,  and  a 
promise  secured  from  them  that  they  would  trade  "as  before," 
Huyghen  additionally  assuring  them  "a  higher  price  than  the 
Hollanders." 

The  Golden  Shark  needed  repairs,  and  work  on  her  could 
not  be  completed  until  December.  Then  winter  set  in  suddenly, 
and  she  was  frozen  up.  She  could  not  get  away  until  February 
20,  1647,  when  she  sailed  with  a  cargo  which  included  10 1  casks 
of  tobacco,  over  a  fourth  of  which  had  been  raised  by  the  Swedes 
— the  remainder  secured  in  trade.  Printz  sent  back  by  her  a 
long  report.  Since  1643,  ^""^  said,  the  health  of  the  people  had 
been  good ;  "only  two  men  and  two  small  children"  had  died. 
"The  whole  number  of  men,  women,  boys,  girls,  and  children 
now  living  here  is  183  souls."  He  had  built  a  church  at  New 
Gottenlmrg— that  dedicated  by  Campanius  in  1646 — "adorning 
and  decorating  it  according  to  our  Swedish  fashion,  so  far  as  our 
limited  means  and  resources  would  allow."  He  had  also  built 
a  storehouse  there.  To  break  up  the  trade  of  the  Dutch  west  of 
the  Delaware,  he  had  built  "a  fine  house  called  Wasa."  inland 
from  Fort  Korsholm,  "by  the  road  of  the  Minquas,"       It  was 

88 


S  ()  M   II 


ACCOUNT 

(J  I       T  H  I. 

PROVINCE 

PENNSILVANIA 


I  \ 


A  M  E  R I C  A  ^ 

Lately  Granted  under  tlicCJreat  Seal 


()  1 


ENGLAND 


() 


William  Pcnn,  &c. 

Togctlicr  wirli  Priviled^esand  Powers  necef- 
fary  tf)  the  well  s^ovcrnini^  thereof. 

M.idf  jniMick   for  tlic  liifoim.uion  ot  lucli  .»•>  are  <n  may  be 

dilpokJ  ro  Ti.i"l|>oir  tliemlclvcs  ur  SctNants 

into  thole  P.irts. 


LOXDOX:   Pi  lilted,  and  Sold  by  'Bcnj.mm  CUk 
Booklcllci    111  C»:oy"i-l\iiilLombj>Jj}icci,  »6i!» 


Tilli'  page  ui  Englisli  hook  used  ti>  inlliKiici.-  inimigraiii  m  ti'  Pennsylvania 


The  Swedish   Settlement 

"so  strong-  that  four  or  live  men,  well  provided  with  giuis,  balls 
and  powder,"  could  defend  it,  and  he  had  settled  there  "seven 
freemen,  sturdy  fellows."  A  quarter  of  a  mile  (Swedish:  over 
one  and  a  half  English),  beyond  Wasa  he  had  built  another  strong 
house,  and  settled  five  freemen  there,  calling  the  place  Molndal. 
Here  he  had  set  up  a  water  mill,  "which  runs  the  whole  year,  to 
the  great  advantage  of  the  country;  particularly  as  the  windmill 
formerlv  here,  before  I  came,  would  not  work,  and  was  good  for 
nothing." 

These  two  ])laces  are  worth  particular  identification.  Wasa 
is  supposed  to  have  been  the  place  known  as  "Kingsesse"  (the 
township  afterward  Kingsessing.  now  in  West  Philadelphia),  on 
Karakung  (Carkoen's),  or  Cobb's  Creek.  At  Kingsesse,  as  we 
shall  see.  the  last  sitting  of  the  Duke  of  York's  "Court"  occurred, 
in  June.  1681,  when  the  proprietorship  of  Pennsylvania  was  sur- 
rendered to  the  representative  of  William  Penn.  Molndal  is 
better  identified.  It  was  long  known  as  "the  Swedes"  mill."  It 
stood  on  Cobb's  creek,  near  the  place  where  the  old  Darby  road 
crosses  the  stream.  It  was  the  first  water-mill  erected  in  Penn- 
sylvania— the  first  probably  in  a  much  wider  region. 

Some  other  items  in  Printz's  report  may  detain  us.  He  says 
there  were  two  head  of  cattle  here  w^hen  he  came,  and  that  he 
brought  three  with  him;  these  had  increased  to  ten.  and  fourteen 
oxen  and  a  cow  had  been  purchased.  And  as  "the  freemen"' 
needed  more  cattle  for  cultivating  the  land,  he  intended  in  May 
to  buy  some  in  \'irginia.  ^Mechanics  of  various  sorts  were 
needed,  but  above  all  "a  good  number  of  unmarried  women  for 
our  unmarried  freemen  and  others."  The  Magister,  Campanius, 
wished  to  return  home ;  at  least  two  clergymen  should  be  sent  out. 
The  goods  needed  for  trade,  both  with  the  Indians  and  the  other 
colonies,  he  enumerated  :  "clothing,  shoes,  linen  cloth,  thread, 
silk,  fine  and  coarse  cloth,  divers  drugs  and  colors  for  dyeing,  but- 
tons. Dutch  ribbons,  hats,  belts,  swords,  tanned  leather,  etc." 
Such  goods  "are  very  vendible  here  and  in    Virginia    and  New 

91 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 


England,"  he  said,  "and  can  be  sold  at  a  profit  of  one  hundred  per 
cent."  A  trusty  man  should  be  appointed  to  procure  "zewandt" 
in  New  England,  for  this  was  the  Indians'  money,  and  trade 
could  not  be  carried  on  without  it. 

While  Printz  had  been  managing  affairs  for  the  Swedes  fairly 
well,  the  situation  at  Manhattan  had  gone  from  bad    to    worse. 


Original  Seal  of  Chester  County 

Kieft's  abominable  wars  with  the  Indians  had  continued  until  the 
Dutch  were  exhausted.  "During  five  years" — to  the  summer 
of  1645 — "New  Netherland  had  known  hardly  five  months  of 
peace.  Manhattan  was  nearly  depopulated.  In  two  years  six- 
teen hundred  savages  had  been  killed ;  at  Manhattan,  and  in  its 
neighborhood,  scarcely  one  hundred  men,  besides  traders,  could 
be  found."  Money  there  was  none;  the  new  church  stood  un- 
finished; church,  school,  and  poor  funds  had  been  used  for  the 
war.  All  this  was  the  result  of  Kieft's  policy  of  "extermina- 
tion," which  DeVries  had  in  vain  protested  against  as  both  cruel 
and  fatuous.       It  followed,  of  course,  that  the  Dutch  hold  on  the 

92 


The  Swedish  Settlement 

Delaware,  never  firm  from  the  beginning,  should  be  even  more 
feeble  during  these  evil  years  at  Manhattan. 

But  in  the  autumn  of  1645.  the  Indian  troubles  being  com- 
posed, Kieft  had  sent  over  to  Fort  Nassau  a  new  Commissary, 
Andreas  Hudde.  a  more  energetic  and  apparently  a  more  honest 
man  than  his  predecessor,  Jan  Jansen.  The  pressure  of  Dutch 
competition  for  the  trade  with  the  Indians  west  of  the  river  be- 
gan to  be  felt  again.  In  June,  1646,  a  sloop  came  from  Manhat- 
tan with  goods,  and  Hudde  sent  her  into  the  Schuylkill,  "to  wait 
for  the  Minquas."  The  Swedes,  however,  promptly  ordered  her 
to  leave,  and  her  captain.  Juriaen  Blancke,  fearing  the  loss  of 
vessel  and  cargo,  departed.  In  September,  Kieft  ordered  Hudde 
to  get  an  Indian  title  to  land  on  the  west  bank.  This  he  pro- 
ceeded to  do,  and  set  up  there  the  "arms"  of  the  Dutch  West 
India  Company,  whereupon  Huyghen,  for  the  Swedes,  took  them 
down. 

Still  another  change  in  the  Dutch  administration  affected  the 
face  of  affairs  on  the  Delaware.  The  Golden  Shark,  with  Printz's 
report  of  February,  1647,  ^^^^  ^'ttle  more  than  reached  Sweden, 
when  there  arrived  a  new  Dutch  Governor,  in  succession  to 
Kieft.  This  was  Peter  Stuyvesant.  He  reached  Manhattan 
May  II.  1647.  It  was  to  l^e  his  work  to  receive  the  submission 
of  New  Sweden,  and  to  make  the  surrender  (»f  New  Netherland. 

We  shall  hasten,  now,  with  the  events  on  the  Delaware.  A 
ship  from  Sweden,  the  Swan,  came  out  in  September.  1647. 
Papegoia,  who  had  gone  back  on  the  Gold 01  Shark,  returned  to 
Tinicum  in  her.  He  brought  to  Printz  an  order  to  remain  as 
governor,  instead  of  the  release  he  had  asked.  New  grants  of 
land  were  made  him — one  of  them,  known  as  Printzdorp,  on  the 
Delaware,  south  of  Upland.  The  ship  brought  few  colonists; 
only  one,  the  Rev.  Lars  Carlsson  Lock,  is  known  to  us.  The 
Swan  sailed  for  Stockholm  in  May  (i6th),  1648,  and  Magister 
Campanius,  who  bad  now  si)cnt  more  than  five  years  at  Tinicum, 
went  in  her. 

93 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

Feeling  that  the  key  to  the  Indian  trade  was  on  the  Schuyl- 
kill, Printz  prepared  in  the  winter  of  1647-8  to  place  more  build- 
ings there,  but  Hudde,  forestalling  him,  erected  on  the  east  bank 
of  that  stream,  at  Passyunk,  not  far  from  the  supposed  site  of  the 
Swedes'  Korsholm,  a  strong  place  which  he  called  Fort  Bevers- 
rede.  Thereupon,  Kling,  for  the  Swedes,  "opposed  the  work," 
and  cut  down  the  trees  about  the  new  fort.  Stuyvesant  now 
sent  agents  from  Manhattan  to  buy  the  land  of  the  Indians  once 
more.  The}-  held  a  council  with  Mattahoorn  and  other  chiefs 
at  Passyunk,  who  "confirmed"  the  alleged  sale  of  the  lands  there 
to  Arendt  Corssen,  in  1633.  Printz  paid  no  regard  to  this; 
houses  which  two  Dutchmen  had  begun  to  build  on  the  tract  were 
torn  down,  by  his  order,  and  in  September  ( 1648),  he  had  a  house 
built  so  close  to  Fort  Beversrede,  on  the  river  side,  as  to  render  it 
practically  useless  for  Indian  trading. 

Printz  was  thus  ''locking  horns"  with  Stuyvesant.  The  strug- 
gle was  unequal.  The  Swedish  colony,  though  it  had  prospered, 
had  grown  but  slowly.  The  colony  at  Manhattan,  relieved  from 
the  strain  of  war,  had  begim  to  increase  rapidly.  In  Europe  the 
Thirty  Years'  war  was  over,  and  Holland's  concern  for  the 
friendship  of  Sweden  was  abated.  The  imperious  Stuyvesant 
was  soon  to  make  his  power  felt  on  the  Delaware. 

And  at  this  juncture  a  dire  misfortune  befel  the  Swedes.  To 
their  earnest  petition  for  more  colonists,  more  arms,  more  sup- 
plies of  a  substantial  kind,  the  government  at  Stockholm  had  at 
last  endeavored  to  make  an  energetic  response.  A  ship,  the  Cat, 
was  fitted  out ;  she  took  on  board  a  commander,  Hans  Amundson 
Besk,  with  his  wife  and  five  children ;  sixty-three  other  immi- 
grants, including  a  clergyman,  a  clerk,  a  "barber-surgeon,"  and 
some  mechanics  and  soldiers ;  her  cargo  included  eighteen  cannon, 
of  various  sizes,  and  other  weapons,  and  abundant  ammunition, 
with  rigging  for  a  new  ship  intended  to  be  built  on  the  Dela- 
ware. It  was  the  "eighth"  of  the  Swedish  "expeditions,"  one 
of  the  most  important,  and  alas,  the  most  disastrous  !      Its  calami- 

9+ 


I'he  Swedish   Settlement 

ties  made  the  fall  of  Xew  Sweden  sure :  its  safe  arrival  at  Tiiiicum 
might  have  averted  that  event. 

In  brief,  the  Cat,  sailing  from  Gottenburg  on  the  3d  of- July 
(1649),  '^^■^s  wrecked  on  an  island  near  Porto  Rico,  on  the  26th 
of  August.  The  Spaniards  pillaged  the  ship,  and  took  the  peo- 
ple to  Porto  Rico.  A  few  remained  there  permanently ;  others 
got  back,  in  one  way  and  another,  to  Sweden ;  eighteen,  still  hop- 
ing to  reach  the  Delaware,  secured  at  length  a  small  vessel,  and 
venturously  sailed  from  Porto  Rico  in  ^lay,  1651,  but  were  cap- 
tured by  a  hostile  ship,  and  taken  to  the  island  of  Santa  Cruz, 
where  all  died  but  five.  The  commander,  Amundson.  with  his 
family,  being  sent  by  the  Governor  of  Porto  Rico  t(j  Spain,  got 
back  at  last  to  Sweden,  to  relate  the  dismal  tale. 

Printz  had  been  looking  for  a  ship,  when  .word  of  this  disaster 
reached  him.  There  had  been  no  arrival  since  the  Siuan  depart- 
ed in  May,  1648.  It  was  now  midsummer,  1650.  The  bad 
news  came  to  Manhattan  ;  Governor  Stuyvesant  wrote  of  it  to 
Hudde,  at  Fort  Nassau,  sending  the  letter  by  Augustine  Herman, 
who  was  coming  to  the  Delaware,  and  who,  as  a  famous  figure 
later  in  the  history  of  Maryland,  lord  of  "Bohemia  Manor"  on 
Chesapeake  bay.  is  entitled  to  this  special  mention.  Printz  wrote 
at  once  to  Sweden,  sending  his  letter  by  a  Dutch  vessel.  He 
spoke  sadly  of  the  loss  of  the  Cat.  Most  of  the  settlers,  he  said, 
were  "alive  and  well."  They  were  generally  supplied  with  oxen 
and  cattle;  the  crops  this  year,  1650.  had  been  very  good,  and  the 
free  farmers  would  have  a  hundred  tons  of  grain  to  sell.  His 
successor,  whom  he  licggcd  should  be  sent,  would  find  things  in 
good  order.  He  had  held  "the  best  places,"  in  spite  of  all  oppo- 
sition, though  he  had  lost  the  Indian  trade  for  want  of  goods. 

Fresh  collisions  of  Dutch  and  Swedes  at  Fort  Beversrede 
brought  matters  to  a  crisis  in  the  spring  of  165 1.  In  May,  Stuy- 
vesant sent  from  Manhattan  an  armed  ship,  which  anchored  in 
the  Delaware  below  Christina.  Printz  finally  drove  her  away — 
according  to  the  Swedish  account — but  her  captain's  report  to 

1-7  97 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

Manhattan  Ijrougiit  Stuyvesant  himself,  overland,  with  a  consid- 
erable suite,  and  a  number  of  soldiers.  An  Indian  council  was 
held  cit  Fort  Nassau,  and  lands  were  once  more  obligingly  sold 
by  the  sachems  to  the  Dutch.  (It  was  here  that  Mattahoorn  ex- 
plained the  sale  he  had  made  at  Christina  to  Minuit  in  1638.) 
Stuyvesant  summoned  Printz  to  show^  by  what  authority  he 
claimed  the  position  he  held  on  the  river,  and  the  latter  made  the 
best  reply  he  could,  saying,  inter  alia,  that  the  official  documents 
were  at  Stockholm. 

Stuyvesant  then  took  a  bold  step.  AI)andoning  Fort  Nassau, 
as  ''too  far  up  and  too  far  out  of  the  w'ay,"  he  built  a  new  fort,  on 
the  west  side,  at  "Sand  Hook,"  now  New  Castle,  Delaware,  w'hich 
he  called  Fort  Casimir,  and  made  it  the  seat  of  the  Dutch  on  the 
river.  The  Swedish  fort  at  Christina  was  thus  in  turn  rendered 
practically  useless.  Printz  protested,  but  his  forces  w^ere  inferior. 
According  to  the  Swedish  reports,"  which  appear  exaggerated, 
Stuyvesant  had  eleven  ships  to  support  him,  four  of  them  "well 
furnished"  for  fight.  It  is  certain  that  the  cost  of  this  expedition 
and  the  erection  of  Fort  Casimir  was  severely  felt  at  Manhattan, 
and  the  treasury  there  was  drained  by  it. 

The  situation  was  now  strained,  indeed,  wath  both  Dutch  and 
Sw'edes  struggling  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river;  rival  posts  on 
the  Schuylkill,  and  hostile  forts  at  Christina  and  Casimir.  The 
appearance  of  peaceful  relations,  however,  was  maintained ;  Stuy- 
vesant returned  to  Manhattan  after  interviews  with  Printz,  in 
which  they  promised  mutually  to  "keep  neighborly  friendship," 
etc.  Printz  wrote  at  once  to  Sweden,  describing  the  events  of  the 
summer.  He  had  again  held  conferences  with  the  Indians,  and 
had  rebought  lands  on  both  sides  of  the  river.  He  had  aban- 
doned the  fort  at  Varken's  Kill,  Elfsborg,  and  maintained  now- 
only  New  Gottenburg,  Korsholm,  and  Christina;  these  he  had 
strengthened  and  repaired.  The  harvests  had  again  been  good, 
there  were  "delicious  crops  of  several  kinds  of  fruit ;"  the  great 
needs  w-ere  more  people,  "both  soldiers  and  farmers,"  and  these, 

98 


The   Swedish   Settlement 

he  added,  "the  countrv  is  now  am[)l\-  ahle  to  sustain."  His  letter 
to  Oxenstiern,  August  i  (  1^)31  ).  is  pathetic.  "1  have  frequently." 
he  says,  "according  to  my  duty,  in  the  most  humhle  way,  re- 
ported to  your  Excellency  whatever  here  occurred,  asking  for 
more  people  and  means  of  defense:  but,  during  the  whole  space  of 
six  years  and  three  months.  I  have  received  no  orders  and  not  the 
first  matter  of  assistance  from  the  old  country.  Every  day  yet  I 
am  with  great  anxiety  ex])ccting  it:  for  myself,  too,  I  beg  of  your 
Grace  to  be  released,  (iod  knows  what  I  ha\e  suffered  these  three 
long  years." 

Efforts  were  made  in  Sweden  to  send  another  ship.  The 
Swan  was  selected,  but  did  not  get  off.  Printz  and  his  people 
still  waited.  It  had  now  been — in  the  summer  of  1652 — over 
four  years  since  the  Szcaii  went  away.  Not  even  a  letter  or  mes- 
sage had  come  to  them  from  Sweden.  The  colonists  began  to 
think  they  had  been  abandoned  by  the  mother  country,  and  some 
deserted.  This  year  excessive  rains  spoiled  the  crops.  Still 
Printz  kept  up  a  bold  front :  he  had  built  the  hull  of  a  ship  of  about 
two  hundred  tons,  and  hoped  for  sails,  rigging,  and  guns  from 
home.  In  April,  1653,  he  again  wrote.  There  were  then  "living 
and  remaining"  in  New  Sweden,  he  said,  "altogether  two  hundred 
souls."  Soldiers  and  others  were  discouraged;  they  had  but 
"mean  subsistence :"  and  they  sought  a  chance  "every  day"  to  get 
away.  It  was  now.  he  said,  "five  years  and  a  half  since  a  letter 
was  received  from  home."  He  could  not  trade  with  the  Indians, 
since  he  had  no  goods:  besides,  the  Indians  on  the  Susquehanna 
(the  "Minquas")  were  at  war.  In  the  summer  lie  sent  his  son 
Gustaf.  a  lieutenant,  to  Sweden  to  report,  and  finally  in  the  fall. 
no  ship  and  no  letter  having  come,  he  resolved  to  go  himself.  The 
announcement  of  ]ii>  ])urpose  caused  dismay;  he  assured  the  peo- 
ple, however,  that  he  would  either  return  within  ten  months,  or 
would  send  a  slii]).  He  appointed  Papegoia.  his  son-in-law.  dep- 
uty governor,  and  with  his  wife,  the  commissary  Huyghen.  and 
some  others,  he  left  at  tlie  licginning  of  October.  1^53.  in  a  Dutch 

9Q 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

ship.  England  and  Holland  were  then  at  war;  it  was  the  time  of 
terrific  naval  battles  in  the  narrow  seas  between  the  two  countries; 
so  the  ship  put  in  at  Rochelle,  in  France,  and  the  Swedish  passen- 
gers landed  there.  Getting  to  Holland  after  a  long  delay,  it  was 
not  until  1654  that  Printz  reached  Stockholm. 

Meanwhile  the  affairs  of  the  colony  had  been  once  more 
earnestly  discussed  in  the  Swedish  Council.  The  Queen,  Chris- 
tina, disliked  affairs  of  state — she  was  a  strange  child  of  her  great 
father- — and  the  faithful  pilot  of  Sweden,  Oxenstiern,  was  near 
his  end.  But  a  fresh  effort  was  resolved  upon.  Different  ships 
were  designated  for  the  expedition,  and  there  were  delays  and 
false  starts,  but  at  last  on  the  2(1  of  February,  1654,  the  Eagle 
left  Gottenburg  for  the  Delaware.  She  had,  it  is  said,  no  less  than 
three  hundred  and  fifty  emigrants  on  board.  It  was  the  "Ninth 
Expedition." 

In  command  of  the  company  was  Johan  Claesson  Risingh. 
He  had  been  commissioned  Commissary  and  Assistant  Councillor 
to  Governor  Printz.  No  one  in  Stockholm -yet  knew  that  Printz 
was  on  his  way  home,  and  had  landed  two  months  before  on  the 
coast  of  France.  Besides  Risingh  others  of  distinction  were  on 
the  ship — Sven  Schute,  captain  of  the  soldiers ;  an  engineer,  Peter 
Lindstrom,  well  known  in  our  Delaware  river  history  by  his  maps 
and  plans ;  and  two  Lutheran  clergymen,  the  Rev.  Petrus  Hjort, 
and  Matthias  Nertunius :  the  last  named  had  been  one  of  the  dis- 
tressed company  on  the  unfortunate  Cat. 

The  Eagle  had  an  adventurous  voyage.  Danger  seemed  to 
be  in  the  air.  Half  the  emigrants  were  sick.  The  ship  was  dis- 
mantled by  a  hurricane.  She  narrowly  escaped  capture  by  Turk- 
ish corsairs.  But  the  i8th  of  May  (1654),  she  came  inside  the 
Delaw-are  capes,  and  the  hearts  of  the  adventurers  rose  out  of 
discouragement.  They  passed  by  ruined  Elfsborg,  and  on  the 
2 1  St  cast  anchor  off  Fort  Casimir.  This  w'as  held  by  a  Dutch 
Commissary,  Gerrit  Bikker.  He  had  tw^elve  men.  The  Swedish 
ship  had  been  seen  coming  up  the  river,  and  a  boat  sent  down  to- 

100 


The  Swedish   Settlement 

reconnoitre  returned  with  word  that  it  "was  full  of  people,  with  a 
new^  governor,"  and  that  they  wanted  possession  of  the  fort,  since 
it  stood  on  Swedish  land.  The  Dutch  residents  demanded  that 
Bikker  make  defense ;  that  commandant,  in  despair,  asked,  "What 
can  I  do?  I  have  no  powder!"  An  hour  later.  Schute  and 
twenty  or  thirty  of  his  soldiers  landed,  and  Bikker  went  to  meet 
them  on  the  beach.  The  fort  gate  was  open  ;  the  Swedes  marched 
in.      Fort  Casimir  was  captured! 


Belt  of  Wampum 

Given  to  William  Penn  by  the  Leni  Lenape 
Sachems  at  the  Elm  Tree  Treaty  at  Shacka- 
maxon  in  1682.  Photographed  especially  for 
this  work  by  J.  F.  Sachse  from  the  original  in 
possession  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsyl- 
vania 

Risingh's  written  orders  at  Stockholm  had  been  to  secure 
possession  of  Casimir,  if  possible,  by  peaceable  means.  But  he  is 
said  to  have  had  other  unwritten  instructions,  not  to  miss  a  good 
chance  to  seize  it.  He  acted  here  on  the  verbal,  not  the  written, 
orders.  If  peace  had  not  just  then  been  made  (April,  1654) 
betw'een  England  and  Holland,  so  that  a  threatened  invasion  of 
New  Netherland  by  men  from  New  England  was  averted;  and  if 
the  Dutch  governor  at  Manhattan  had  been  Van  Tw'iller  or  Kieft. 
instead  of  the  choleric,  energetic  Stuyvesant.  the  course  taken  by 
Risingh  would  probably  have  been  justified  by  the  event,  but  as  it 
was.  he  could  hardly  have  acted  more  imprudently. 

Sven  Schute  was  placed  in  command  of  the  fort ;  its  name  was 
changed  from  Casimir  to  Trinity,  for  it  was  on  the  Trinity  Sun- 
day of  the  Lutheran  calendar  that  the  capture  had  been  made.   Of 

lOI 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and    Federal 

the  dozen  Dutch  soldiers  most  were  sent  to  Manhattan,  and  others, 
including  Bikker,  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Swedish 
queen.  Risingii,  in  the  Eagle,  sailed  on  up  the  river,  landed  at 
Tinicum,  and  relieving-  the  discouraged  Papegoia,  assumed  the 
position  of  governor  of  New  Sweden.  Things  were  at  a  low 
el)b.  After  I'rintz's  departure  many  of  the  Company's  people 
had  deserted.  Only  seventy  colonists,  according  to  Risingh,  re- 
mained. With  those  who  came  on  the  Eagle,  and  the  Dutch  set- 
tlers who  took  the  oath  to  Sweden,  there  were  now  368.  The 
fort  at  Korsholm,  abandoned  after  Printz  left,  had  been  burned  by 
the  Indians. 

Risingh  now^  entered  on  a  career  of  government  which  lasted 
sixteen  months.  He  wn-ote  to  Stuyvesant  at  Manhattan,  announc- 
ing and  justifying  his  action.  He  convoked  at  Tinicum  the  Dutch 
and  other  settlers  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance.  He  called  the 
Indians  together,  also,  in  a  council  at  Printz  Hall,  the  chiefs, 
headed  by  Naaman,  a  sachem  whose  name  is  preserved  in  Nap- 
man's  Creek,  near  the  circular  boundary  of  Delaware,  once  more 
renewed  the  league  of  friendship. 

He  announced  new  regulations  concerning  "the  people,  land, 
agriculture,  woods,  and  cattle."  He  invited  back  those  Swedes 
who  had  gone  to  Virginia.  A  little  town  outside  the  fort  at 
Christina  was  laid  out  by  Lindstrom.  The  Trinity  fort  was 
reconstructed  by  Captain  Schute,  and  four  fourteen-pound  cannon 
were  taken  from  the  Eagle  to  be  placed  upon  it.  The  ship  herself 
sailed  homeward  in  July,  with  a  partial  cargo  of  tobacco. 

But  no  energy  of  Risingh  could  permanently  avail.  A  new 
disaster  now  befell.  Another  ship  had  been  dispatched  from 
Stockholm  a  few  weeks  after  the  Eagle.  It  w^as  the  Golden  Shark, 
which  liacl  come  out  before  in  1646.  She  left  Gottenburg  in 
April  (1634),  and  touching  at  Porto  Rico  to  give  opportunity  to 
her  commissary,  Elswick,  for  urging  a  claim  on  the  Spanish 
governor  for  damages  in  the  case  of  the  Cat,  reached  the  Ameri- 
can coast  in  September,  and  then  was  steered,  by  design  or  stupid- 

102 


The   Swedish   Settlement 

ity.  into  Xew  York  harbor,  instead  of  Delaware  Bay.  As  she 
came  up  to  ^^lanhattan.  Stuyvesant's  eye  must  have  shone  with 
pleasure  at  sight  of  her  flag.  Here  was  his  chance  for  reprisal! 
He  seized  her.  of  course,  as  offset  to  the  capture  of  Fort  Casimir, 
and  as  Risingh  refused  to  come  to  Manhattan  to  treat  for  the 
restoration  of  the  fort,  he  confiscated  the  ship  as  well  as  her  cargo. 
Most  of  those  who  liad  come  in  her  remained  at  New  Netherland ; 
the  commissary,  i^lswick.  at  last  reached  the  Delaware  in  Xo- 
vember. 

The  Dutcli  West  India  0:)m])any  had  now  sent  orders  to 
Stuyvesant  to  proceed  to  retake  Fort  Casimir.  Hearing  of  his 
seizure  of  the  Golden  Shark,  they  wrote  approving  that,  and  noti- 
fying him  that  they  would  soon  dispatch  "one  of  the  largest  and 
best  ships"  of  Amsterdam,  carrying  thirty-six  guns  and  two  hun- 
dred men.  on  whose  arrival  he  was  to  proceed  to  the  South  ri\er. 
in  an  energetic  campaign  against  the  Swedes.  The  ship.  Dc 
IVaag  (The  Scales),  reached  Manhattan  early  in  August.  1655, 
commanded  by  "the  valiant  Frederick  de  Koninck."  Stuyvesant 
was  ill,  but  his  subi^rdinates  pushed  forward  preparations  for  the 
expedition.  August  25  was  set  apart  as  a  day  of  fasting  and 
prayer,  to  implore  the  Divine  blessing  upon  it.  V^olunteers  were 
called  for,  "at  reasonable  wages.''  with  assurance  that  if  wounded 
thev  should  have  "due  compensation."  Pilots  were  engaged, 
supplies  of  ammunitiou  and  provisions  laid  in,  and  three  small 
ships  were  chartered.  A  French  privateer  happened  to  come 
into  jiort.  and  she  also  was  ])revaile(l  upon  to  join.  The  Jews  of 
the  town,  declared  exem])t  fmrn  military  ser\'ice.  were  mulcted  in 
a  stiff  tax  in  lieu  of  it. 

On  the  first  Sundav  in  Sei)tembcr.'  "after  the  sermon"  in  the 
Dutch  church  at  Manhattan,  the  expedition  set  sail.  It  was  an  im- 
posing armada — se\en  ships,  great  and  small,  with  "six  t(^  seven 

^This   was  the    new,   the    Gregorian   caleii-        calciular.    until     1753.      By    this,    the    Dutch 
dar.   which  the   Dutch  had  adopted  in    1582.        expedition   left    Manhattan   .-\ugust   28. 
The  Swedes  adhered  to  the  old,  the  Julian, 

103 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

hundred  men,"  according  to  Risingh's  report,  or  according  to  a 
Dutch  authority,  "three  hundred  and  seventeen  soldiers,  and  a 
company  of  sailors."  which  appears  somewhat  more  probahle. 
The  next  day  they  entered  the  Delaware,  and  on  the  following  day 
they  cast  anchor  before  old  Fort  Elfsborg.  Here  the  force  was 
landed  and  reviewed,  and  "divided  regularly  into  five  sections, 
each  under  its  own  colors."  The  next  day,  the  31st  of  August. 
(O.  S.)  they  proceeded  up  the  river,  and  "about  eight  or  nine 
o'clock"  in  the  morning  sailed  past  Fort  Casimir.  Schute's  guns 
were  silent.  The  ships  went  a  little  farther  up,  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Clu'istina,  and  the  troops  were  landed.  They  thus  easily 
took  position  between  the  two  forts,  Christina  and  Casimir,  cut- 
ting off  their  communications,  and  menacing  the  latter  in  the  rear. 
Risingh  received  word  of  the  intended  invasion,  through  the 
Indians,  and  by  spies.  He  had  strengthened  Fort  Casimir  (or 
Trinity,  as  renamed),  making  the  garrison  forty-seven  in  number, 
and  had  ordered  Commissary  Schute  to  challenge  the  Dutch  ships 
when  they  appeared,  and  to  prevent  their  passage  if  possible.  But 
the  imposing  array  apparently  paralyzed  the  commissary.  So  far 
as  appears,  he  did  nothing.  The  Dutch  commander  sent  an  offi- 
cer, with  a  drummer,  to  demand  his  surrender.  Schute  asked 
time  to  communicate  with  Risingh  at  Christina,  which  was  re- 
fused. Further  parley  followed,  the  Dutch  closing  in ;  a  second 
and  a  third  demand  for  surrender  were  made ;  finally,  Schute 
begged  for  delay  until  the  next  morning,  which  was  granted ;  and 
then  about  noon  (September  i,  O.  S.),  a  "capitulation"  was 
signed  on  the  Dutch  warship.  The  guns  of  the  fort,  nine  alto- 
gether, were  to  be  reserved  for  the  Swedish  "crown,"  and  removed 
when  convenient,  and  similarly  "the  guns  and  muskets  belonging 
to  the  crown."  The  Swedes  were  to  march  out.  twelve  fully 
equipped,  the  remainder  with  their  side-arms.  Stuyvesant  pro- 
claimed that  Swedes  who  would  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  him 
might  remain  unmolested,  and  twenty  did  so.  In  a  letter  dated  at 
Fort  Casimir  on  the  12th  September  (September  2.  O.  S.),  the 

104 


The  Swedish  Settlement 

Dutch  commander  reported  to  his  council  at  Manhattan  his  com- 
plete success  so  far. 

The  surrender.  Risingh's  report  says,  was  unknown  to  him 
until  next  day.  His  situation  at  Christina  had  hecome  practically 
untenable.  He  had  placed  some  of  his  best  men  in  the  captured 
fort,  and  an  additional  party,  sent  the  day  of  the  surrender,  had 
been  made  ])risoners  on  the  way.  He  prepared,  however,  for 
resistance.  "We  collected."  he  says,  "all  the  people  for  the  de- 
fense of  fort  Christina,  and  labored  with  all  our  might  by  night 
and  by  day  in  strengthening  the  ramparts  and  filling  gabions." 
September  2  (12th.  N.  S.),  the  Dutch  appeared  on  the  opposite 
side  of  Christina  creek,  and  the  siege  began — the  famous  and 
bloodless  siege  which  Washington  Irving  found  so  attractive  and 
made  so  diverting  a  theme  in  his  "Knickerbocker"  history.  There 
was,  however,  nothing  humorous  in  the  situation,  to  either  of  the 
chief  combatants.  The  Dutch  commander  was  in  dead  earnest; 
to  Risingh  the  tragedy  of  the  fall  of  Xew  Sweden,  now  plainly 
impending,  was  all  too  real. 

The  siege  need  not  be  here  described  in  detail.  It  lasted  two 
weeks.  On  the  6th  (i6th.  N.  S.).  of  September.  Stuy\-esant  sent 
a  letter,  "claiming  the  whole  ri\'er."  Risingh  replied  next  day 
with  a  letter  asserting  the  rights  of  the  Swedes  on  the  Delaware, 
and  protesting  against  the  Dutch  invasion.  Stuyvesant  renewed 
his  demand,  and  Risingh  next  urged  that  the  boundaries  between 
the  Swedish  and  the  Dutch  colonies  be  settled  by  the  governments 
at  home,  or  by  commissioners  to  be  agreed  upon.  Nothing  but 
delay  resulted  from  their  correspondence.  Stuyvesant  was  sure 
of  capturing  the  place,  and  was  satisfied  to  wait :  it  would  have 
been  folly  in  Risingh.  with  his  thirty  men.  some  of  them,  he  said, 
"ill  affected."  to  have  begun  a  fight.  It  resulted  that  in  the  two 
weeks  no  one  on  either  side  was  killed,  and  no  one  was  wounded. 
September  15  (25th.  N.  S.).  Risingh  surrendered.  .\  formal 
"capitulation"  was  drawn  up  and  signed  by  the  two  commander? 
on  the  "parade  ground"  outside  the  Fort. 

105 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

The  agreement  resem1)]e(l  that  made  at  l-'ort  Casimir.  The 
soldiers  were  to  march  out  with  tlie  honors  of  war.  The  '^giins, 
ammunition,  implements,  victuals,  and  other  effects  helonging  to 
the  crown  of  Sweden,  and  the  South  Com])an}-.""  in  the  fort  or  its 
vicinity,  were  to  remain  their  property.  The  Swedish  settlers 
might  stay  or  go,  as  they  chose,  and  for  a  year  and  six  weeks,  if 
they  stayed,  need  not  take  the  Dutch  oath  of  allegiance.  Swedes 
who  remained  should  enjoy  the  Lutheran  faith  (  "liliertv  of  the 
Augsburg  confession")  and  have  a  minister  to  instruct  them. 
Risingh  and  the  commissary,  Elsw  ick.  were  to  Ije  taken  to  JNIan- 
hattan,  and  thence  provided  with  a  passage  to  Europe. 

Stuyvesant,  as  this  was  concluded,  had  alarming  news  from 
jManhattan.  After  ten  years  of  comparative  peace,  the  Indians 
of  the  lower  Hudson  had  risen  again.  Injuries  done  them  had 
caused  an  outbreak,  and  the  time  had  been  seized  wdien  the  Dutch 
fighting  men  were  mostly  away.  Probably  for  this  reason — if 
the  story  is  true — Stuyvesant  is  said  to  have  offered,  after  the 
capitulation,  to  restore  Christina  to  the  Swedes,  "on  honorable 
and  reasonable  terms."  but  this  Risingh  declined,  preferring  to 
abide  by  the  "capitulation"  n.iade,  and  to  trust  to  the  adjustment 
which  might  come  when  the  subject  was  taken  up  by  the  govern- 
ment at  Stockholm  against  that  at  The  Hague.  Risingh  then 
held  a  court-martial  on  Commissary  Schute  for  his  surrender  of 
the  fort- — with  what  result  is  unknown — and  presently,  with 
others  of  the  .Swedish  officials,  proceeded  to  Manhattan  on  the 
warship.  Tlic  Scales.  From  there  they  sailed — Risingh,  Lind- 
strom  the  engineer,  Elswick  the  commissary,  and  the  two  clergy- 
men, Hjort  and  Nertunius — on  Dutch  merchant  vessels  early  in 
November,  and  were  landed  in  PIvmouth,  England,  where  a  re- 
port of  the  Dutch  conquest  was  made  to  Leydenl)erg.  the  Swedish 
ambassador  to  England.  It  may  here  be  added  that  Sweden 
presently  made  claims  u]inn  Holland  for  her  act  in  the  overthrow 
of  the  colony,  and  might  have  pressed  them  with  effect  had  not 
the  king,  Charles  X..  who  had  succeeded  in  1654,  on  the  abdica- 

106 


The  Swedish   Settlement 

tion  of  Queen  Christina,  been  absorbed  during  the  next  four  years 
in  wars  witli  the  Poles  and  the  Danes.  When  he  suddenly  died 
in  1660.  his  son  Charles  XI.  was  a  minor,  and  affairs  were  con- 
fused. Nothing  but  diplomatic  claims  and  counter-claims  had 
resulted  up  to  1664,  when  the  whole  of  New  Netherland  was 
seized  by  the  English.  Then  the  claims  (^f  Sweden  and  Holland 
on  the  Delaware  were  substantially  alike :  both  nations  had  lost 
their  colonies;  neither  was  likely  to  obtain  much  satisfaction  fr^m 
the  other.     The  controversy  thus  faded  away. 

We  must  pause  a  moment  to  relate  that  one  more  Swedish 
"expedition,"  the  "tenth"  and  last,  had  been  sent  out.  which  ar- 
rived after  the  surrender.  This  was  the  ship  Mercury.  She  was  in 
charge  of  the  old  commissary.  Hendrick  Huyghen,  whom  we  first 
saw  at  Christina  in  1638;  and  had  on  board  also  Johan  Papegoia. 
who  had  l)een  home  to  Sweden  ;  a  minister,  Herr  Matthias,  and 
emigrants,  making  a  party  of  eighty-four  in  all.  Her  cargo  was 
chiefly  linen  and  woolen  goods  and  salt.  She  left  Cottenburg  in 
October,  1655,  ^  f^"^^'  ^veeks  after  the  fall  of  New  Sweden,  the 
event  being  unknown  there,  of  course,  and  reached  the  Delaware 
in  March,  1656.  The  situation  being  learned,  she  was  taken  to 
Manhattan  by  order  of  Huyghen.  and  her  cargo  s(~il(l :  she  reached 
Gottenburg  again  in  September,  1656. 

Though  the  war  between  Stuyvesant  and  Risingh  was  blood- 
less, it  was  not,  according  to  the  Swedish  accounts,  without  some 
elements  of  rapine  and  destruction.  Much  injury  was  done  the 
settlers,  they  declare,  by  the  men  from  Manhattan.  The  fort  on 
Tinicum  Island  was  said  to  have  been  destroyed  by  them,  but 
remains  of  it  were  visible  long  after.  The  wife  of  Papegoia. 
Armgard,  the  daughter  of  Printz.  had  her  home  on  the  island,  at 
Printzhof,  and  in  his  report  Risingh  says  the  Dutch  robbed  her. 
during  the  siege  of  Christina,  "of  all  she  had,  with  many  others 
who  had  their  property  there." 

The  Swedish  colony,  as  a  possession  of  Sweden,  thus  failed. 
In  its  hopeful  inception,  its  unanticipated  difficulties,  its  trials  and 

107 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and    Federal 

struggles,  its  drain  upon  the  mother  countr)'.  and  its  ultimate 
catastrophe,  it  was  an  example  of  many  such  colonial  undertak- 
ings. Most  of  them,  the  world  over,  have  been  a  loss  to  those  who 
directed  them.  The  policy  of  the  home  government,  though  it 
seemed  at  times  slack,  was  in  the  main  consistent  and  persevering. 
The  long  intervals  during  which  the  colonists  waited  for  a  ship, 
or  even  a  letter,  were  times  in  which  the  Swedish  statesmen  were 
engrossed  in  affairs  more  immediately  pressing.  To  do  her  best, 
Sweden  could  have  done  little  more.  In  the  seventeen  years  she 
had  accompHshed  this :  she  had  actually  planted  a  colony.  The 
Swedes  were  settled  upon  the  soil,  and  here  they  remained.  The 
Dutch  episode,  of  which  we  must  next  speak,  did  not  displace 
them.  William  Penn  found  them  here,  doing  well,  and  welcom- 
ing him  heartily,  when  lie  came,  twenty-seven  years  after  Ris- 
ingh's  surrender. 

One  of  the  most  notable  features  of  the  Swedish  chapter  is 
that  there  were  no  wars  with  the  Indians.  The  settlers  lived 
amicably  not  only  with  their  near  neighbors,  the  Lenape,  but  with 
the  more  dangerous  Susquehannocks.  Whatever  tedious  sifting 
may  be  given  to  the  long  story  of  the  so-called  purchases  of  Indian 
title  to  the  land,  on  both  banks  of  the  river,  by  the  Dutch,  the 
Swedes,  and  the  English,  down  to  1655,  the  result  of  it  all  will  be 
inconclusive  as  to  the  right  acquired  under  any  of  them  to  an 
exclusive  possession  of  the  soil,  but  in  the  case  of  the  Swedes  one 
fact  will  plainly  appear- — the  preservation  of  friendly  relations 
with  the  natives.  This  was  the  consistent  and  patiently-pursued 
policy  of  the  Swedes,  and  it  was  made  completely  successful. 
Contrasted  with  the  bloody  chapter  of  the  lower  Hudson,  in 
Kieft's  time,  and  even  in  Stuyvesant's,  it  makes  a  white  page. 


108 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE   DUTCH    SETTLEMENT.— 1655-1664 

THE  overthnAv  of  the  Swedish  authority  on  the  Delaware 
was  complete  and  final.  For  a  period  of  nine  years  the 
white  settlements  on  the  river,  on  both  sides,  remained 
wholly  under  control  of  the  Dutch.  Ships  from  Sweden,  with 
letters  of  instruction  prepared  at  Stockholm,  were  no  longer 
watched  for  at  Tinicum ;  the  immediate  seat  of  authority  was  at 
Manhattan,  and  the  more  distant  one  at  Amsterdam  and  The 
Hague.  The  great  man  to  whom  all  looked  was  the  wooden- 
legged  Director-General  of  Xew  Xetherland,  whose  energy  and 
capacity  had  been  so  signally  shown  in  his  prompt  conquest  of 
New^  Sweden. 

As  for  the  Swedes  the}-  submitted — if  not  cheerfully,  then 
perforce.  Politically,  their  connection  with  their  mother  country 
was  ended,  but  as  we  shall  see,  the  old  ties  of  religion  and  lan- 
guage were  long  cherished,  and  testimony  to  them  appeared  a 
few  years  later  in  the  chain  of  churches  on  the  Delaware  which 
perpetuated  the  Lutheran  faith  and  practice  as  ordained  in 
Sweden. 

Under  the  Dutch  rule  the  settlements  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
river  became  more  definitely  segregated.  The  Swedes  lived  to- 
gether, mostly  north  of  Christina.  The  Dutch  gathered  al)out 
Fort  Casimir.  where  a  little  hamlet  sprang  up.  which  became 
known  as  Xew  .\mstel — the  Xew  Castle  of  the  English,  and  of 
our  day.       At  Xew  Amstel  authority  centered.       Christina,  re- 

I  I  I 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

named  Altona  (or  Altena),  was  eclipsed,  and  Tinicum  ceased  to 
liave  importance  except  as  the  residence  of  Madam  Papegoia  and 
tlie  location  of  a  cb.urch.  The  log  forts  at  both  places  rotted 
down,  and  were  not  rebuilt. 

From  Christina,  after  receivirg  Risingh's  surrender.  Stuy- 
vesant  hastened  back  to  A'lanhattan,  to  array  the  colonists  there 
against  the  Indians.  lie  left  Ensign  Dirck  Smith  in  temporary 
command  at  Fort  Casimir,  but  sent  over  in  a  few  weeks  John  Paul 
Jacquet.  to  be  Vice-Director  and  administrator  of  the  Dutch  au- 
thority on  the  Delaware.  Full  instructions  were  given  him — 
among  other  things  to  confine  the  trading  on  the  river  to  Fort 
Casimir,  where  it  could  be  guarded  and  controlled ;  to  prevent  the 
sale  of  rum  to  the  Indians ;  to  keep  a  watchful  eye  on  the  Swedes, 
and  send  away  any  who  might  be  disaffected ;  and  to  maintain 
and  protect  the  Reformed  religion,  according  to  "the  word  of 
God,  and  the  Synod  of  Dordrecht." 

Jacquet  had  been  in  the  service  of  the  Dutch  East  India  Com- 
pany in  Brazil.  Coming  now  to  Fort  Casimir,  he  found  but  a 
feeble  settlement  there,  a  dozen  families  or  so,  and  the  fort  itself 
fallen  into  decay.  It  needed  renewing,  he  reported,  "from  the 
bottom,"  to  be  of  any  use  against  an  enemy.  Fortunately  none 
was  in  sight.  Some  of  the  Indian  sachems  came  to  ask  better 
prices  for  furs,  and  to  suggest  that  this  was  a  proper  time  to  make 
them  presents,  but  they  made  no  threats  and  gave  no  trouble.  As 
for  presents,  Jacquet  thought  it  worth  while  to  raise  a  subscrip- 
tion to  secure  them,  and  one  hundred  and  eighty-nine  guilders 
were  contributed,  all  the  settlers  "cheerfully"  joining  but  two. 

Jacquet,  however,  had  scarcely  been  settled  at  New  Amstel 
when  an  important  change  occurred.  The  West  India  Com- 
pany had  been  obliged  to  borrow  money,  and  one  of  its  chief 
creditors  was  the  City  of  Amsterdam,  which  had  especially  ad- 
vanced funds  to  fit  out  Stuyvesant's  armada  of  conquest  the  pre- 
ceding year.  The  Company  therefore  arranged  (July,  1656) 
to  sell  to  the  City  of  Amsterdam  all  its  claims  to  territory  on  the 

1 12 


The  Dutch   Settlement 

west  side  of  the  Delaware,  from  the  south  side  of  Christina  kill 
to  the  place  now  known  as  Bombay  Hook.  The  sale  being 
completed,  the  City  appointed  its  own  Governor,  Jacob  Alrich, 
and  dispatched  him  with  three  ships  and  a  company  of  colonists. 
The  largest  of  the  three,  the  Frintz  Maurits,  in  which  Alrich 
sailed  with  many  of  the  colonists,  was  wrecked  (March,  1657) 
on  the  coast  of  Long  Island,  and  though  those  on  board  escaped 
with  their  lives,  it  was  not  without  suffering  and  loss.  At  the 
outset  the  Amsterdam  enterprise  was  thus  dampened. 

With  one  hundred  and  eighty  "souls."'  sixty  being  soldiers, 
Alrich  reached  New  Amstel  at  the  end  pf  April,  1637,  and  en- 
tered upon  his  duties,  displacing  Jacquet.  His  authority  cov- 
ered nominally  only  the  territory  from  Christina  to  Bombay 
Hook,  the  remainder  being  still  the  West  India  Company's  col- 
ony, but  practically,  for  a  time,  he  was  the  chief  official  on  the 
Delaware,  subject  only  to  Stuyvesant  at  Manhattan. 

He  was  not  long  in  finding  out  the  difficulties  of  his  position. 
The  fort,  Casimir,  had  continued  to  decay,  until  at  last  no  visitor, 
especially  one  who  might  sometime  be  an  enemy,  was  allowed  to 
go  about  it  to  detect  its  weakness.  The  Dutch  colonists  had 
made  little  progress  in  agriculture,  and  their  crops  were  small. 
It  happened  now  that  in  two  seasons  there  were  alternations  of 
severe  drought  and  excessive  rain.  In  the  summer  and  autumn 
of  1658  a  general  sickness,  an  "ardent  fever,"  prevailed.  The 
"barber-surgeon"  died,  and  also  Christian  Barents,  who  had  come 
to  erect  a  much-needed  mill  to  grind  meal.  "In  great  distress 
for  bread  and  corn"  the  colony  was,  Alrich  wrote  to  Stuyvesant. 
In  the  midst  of  these  troubles,  a  ship  arrived  from  Holland, 
bringing  no  supplies  but  a  hundred  people,  many  of  them  sick ; 
ten  or  eleven  had  died  during  the  long  voyage,  and  three  more 
succumbed  after  arrival. 

Stuyvesant  came  himself,  in  May,  1658,  to  inspect  the  situa- 
tion on  the  Delaware,  especially  to  investigate  charges  of  smug- 
gling, and  complaints  of  various  sorts.       At    Tinicum    he    con- 


1-i 


113 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

ferred  with  the  head  men  of  the  Swedes — their  sheriff,  \"an 
Dyck;  their  magistrates,  Olaf  Stille,  Mathys  Hanson,  Pieter 
Rambo,  and  Peter  Cock ;  the  captain,  Sven  Schute,  and  others. 
These  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Dntch  anthority,  and  pre- 
ferred a  number  of  requests,  most  of  which  Stuyvesant  granted. 
A  further  petition  that  if  war  should  occur  between  Sweden  and 
the  Dutch  Republic,  they  might  remain  neutral,  and  not  be 
obliged  to  serve  against  their  mother  country,  he  acceded  to,  like- 
wise. 

As  already  said,  the  Dutch  settlers  had  made  slow  progress 
in  agriculture.  The  winter  of  1658-9  set  in  early,  and  contin- 
ued long,  causing  "great  distress."  The  excessive  rains  in  the 
autumn  "prevented  the  collection  of  fodder  for  the  creatures," 
and  the  prevalent  fever  "curbed  us  down,"  says  Alrich's  letter 
to  Stuyvesant,  "so  that  all  the  labor  in  the  field  was  abandoned." 
"From  the  first,"  he  adds,  "of  the  few  Netherland  settlers  who 
actually  lived  here  at  our  arri^•al,  scarce  one  has  obtained  during 
our  residence  one  schepel  of  grain.  .  .  The  time  the  first 
year,  of  those  who  came  with  us,  was  spent  in  building  houses 
and  making  gardens.  .  .  The  summer  passed  without  having 
thrown  much  seed  into  the  ground."^  Just  before  the  winter 
began,  the  colony's  "galiot"  was  sent  to  Manhattan  for  food,  but 
was  frozen  in  there,  and,  to  crown  all  misfortunes,  a  yacht  that 
had  been  dispatched  by  Stuyvesant,  laden  with  "pork,  beef, 
maize,  etc.,"  had  a  treacherous  skipper,  who  ran  away  with  the 
ship  on  a  ^■o^•age  of  privateering.  Altogether,  "a  large  number 
of  men,  and  not  a  small  number  of  cattle"  died.  "We  will  de- 
voutly pray  our  Lord,"  writes  Alrich,  "and  hope  that  our  sins 
may  cease,  and  then  the  chastisements  may  also  diminish." 

With  Alrich  there  had  arrived,  in  April,  1657,  as  a  member 
of  the  colony,  one  who  deserves  special  mention,  as  the  first 
schoolmaster  on  the  Delaware.       This  was  Evart  Pietersen.    Our 

'"Not  yet  being  able  to  go  to  ^'irginia  or        larder,  and  trnst  has  been  only  at  the  Man- 
to   the   Xorth."   he   adds,   "our  granary,   and        hattans." 

114 


The  Dutch   Settlement 

knowledge  of  him  is  scant\ .  hut  he  was  sent  out  to  he  the  "school- 
master, comforter  of  the  sick,  and  setter  of  the  psalms."  He 
found,  he  wrote,  twenty  families  at  New  Amstel,  all  Swedes  hut 
five  or  six.  In  August  of  that  year  he  reported  that  he  had  a 
school  of  twenty-five  children.  This  was  the  germ  of  the  schools 
and  colleges  of  Delaware  and  Pennsylvania — the  heginning  of 
them  all. 

There  is  frequent  mention  of  commerce  in  hricks.  They  were 
hrought  from  hrick^ards  at  Manhattan  to  New  Amstel  for  the 
chimneys  of  the  new  houses,  there  and  at  Altona.  The  ship  Dc 
Meulcn  (The  Mill),  which  had  brought  from  Holland  the  ill- 
provided  compau}-  at  the  end  of  September,  1658,  had  bricks  as 
part  of  her  cargo.  lUit  earlier  than  that,  1656.  we  find  Jacobus 
Crabbe  presenting  a  petition  concerning  a  plantation  near  Xew 
Amstel,  "where  brick  and  tile  are  made  and  baked."  The  live 
stock  increased  slowly.  ]Many  allusions  are  made  to  the  subject 
in  the  reports.  Horses  and  cattle  were  sent  from  Manhattan, 
or  bought  in  \'irginia,  and  it  was  a  practice  to  place  them  among 
the  farmers — mostly  the  Swedes — to  be  kept  for  their  use  and 
part  of  the  increase.  Cattle  appear  to  have  been  driven  over- 
land from  Manhattan,  in  at  least  one  instance.  Goats  are  men- 
tioned, at  one  time,  with  a  demand  that  they  have  a  keeper.  At 
another,  the  swine  are  to  be  yoked,  or  may  be  in  default  killed  by 
the  soldiers.  Alrich  writes,  1657,  that  they  are  "few  in  number 
and  wild;"  also  that  he  has  himself  but  two  cows  which  give 
milk.  Oxen  and  horses  are  much  needed,  he  says,  those  he  has 
being  "feeble  and  weak.""  Three  persons  have  arrived,  he  re- 
ports in  a  later  letter,  witli  about  forty  cows,  and  these  he  lias 
bought  at   128  to   130  guilders  apiece. 

The  fur-trade  is  not  much  mentioned,  hut  it  was  probably 
vigorously  maintained,  and  of  importance.  In  1^57  there  was 
a  "general  meeting"  of  settlers  at  Fort  Casimir.  and  the  prices 
to  be  paid  for  furs  were  agreed  u]wn  and  signed  by  about  thirty 
persons:  for  a  "merchantable  beaver"  two  fathoms  of  seawan 

I   I  s 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   F'ederal 

(wampum)  ;  for  a  "good  bear's  hide,  to  the  vahie  of  a  beaver," 
the  same;  for  an  ''elant's  hide''  the  same;  for  a  deer  skin,  120 
seawan  ;  and  smaller  amounts  for  skins  of  foxes  and  other  ani- 
mals. An  official  placard  complains  that  the  settlers  were  too 
eager  for  trade,  and  "ran  after"  the  Indians.  They  were  warned 
not  to  coax  them  or  give  them  gifts,  but  to  let  them  bring  in  their 
furs  and  receive  the  pay  appointed.  In  September,  1660,  Reek- 
man  writes  that  the  ship  De  Groene  Arent  (Green  Eagle)  took 
out  21  bear  skins  and  106  deer-skins.  A  year  later  he  remarks 
upon  the  war  between  the  Minquas  and  Senecas  that  it  "makes 


.Signature  of  William  Penn,  founder  of  Pennsylvania;  born  16^4;  died  1718 

the  trade  bad,"  and  in  a  letter  in  February,  1662,  he  says  the  war 
continues,  and  that  "the  river  savages  here  are  also  in  great  fear, 
so  that  they  have  not  undertaken  their  usual  hunting,  which  is 
the  cause  of  a  poor  trade." 

Besides  furs  and  skins,  other  exports  were  as  yet  few.  Not 
enough  grain  was  raised,  as  a  rule,  for  home  use,  though  in  No- 
vember, 1662,  Beekman  writes:  "Next  summer  we  shall  most 
likely  be  compelled  to  get  our  bread-stuffs  from  the  Manhattans, 
as  at  present  all  the  grain  is  bought  up  by  the  merchants  and  sent 
there."  In  March,  1658,  a  vessel  for  Manhattan  was  loaded 
partly  with  hickory  wood  at  Altona,  and  partly  with  rye  straw 
at  Tinicum.  Later,  we  hear  of  a  cargo  of  lumber — "clap- 
boards"— loaded  on  Upland  kill  to  go  by  the  ship  De  Eycken- 
boom  (The  Oak  Tree)  to  Holland. 

In  July,  1658,  William  Beekman,  who  had  been  a  schepen 
(magistrate)  at  Manhattan  since  1656,  was  appointed  by  Stuy- 
vesant  to  represent  the  West  India  Company  on  the  Delaware,  as 

116 


The  Dutch  Settlement 

its  commissary  and  \'ice-Di rector.  He  was  sent  to  Altoiia 
(Christina)  to  reside — though  his  duties  in  connection  with  the 
prevention  of  smuggling  and  the  collection  of  customs  took  him 
much  to  New  Amstel — and  he  remained  at  Altona  throughout 
the  Dutch  period,  his  letters  and  reports  forming  the  most  valu- 
able material  extant  for  a  study  of  the  colony,  especially  that  part 
within  the  Pennsylvania  limits.  Most  of  the  Swedish  settlers, 
being  north  of  the  Christina,  on  the  company's  land,  came  under 
his  supervision,  and  his  relations  with  them  were  friendly. 

One  of  the  earliest  of  Beeknian's  duties  was  to  purchase  from 
the  Indians  the  land  from  Bombay  Hook  to  the  Delaware  capes. 
It  had  been  feared  that  the  English  "from  X'irginia"  might  seize 
the  mouth  of  the  river.  The  usual  agreement  was  made  with 
the  complaisant  natives,  and  in  May,  1659,  a  log  "fort"  was 
built  at  the  Hoorn-kill  by  Beekman  and  D'Hinoyossa — the  latter 
the  lieutenant  of  Alrich  at  New  Amstel.  A  small  company  of 
soldiers  was  placed  in  the  fort.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  this 
was  the  first  reoccupancy  of  the  place  by  white  men  since  the  de- 
struction of  Swanendael.  in  163 1. 

No  enemies  from  Virginia  appeared,  but  in  the  summer  and 
autumn  of  1659  trouble  threatened  from  Maryland. 

The  Maryland  colony  was  now  a  quarter  of  a  century  old.  Its 
charter  had  been  granted  by  Charles  the  First  of  England,  in 
April,  1632,  to  George  Calvert,  the  first  Lord  Baltimore,  but  he 
dying,  it  was  actually  issued  to  his  son,  Cecil  Calvert,  the  second 
Baron,  on  June  20  of  that  year.  By  its  terms  this  grant  was  for 
lands  uncultivated  and  unoccupied — hactcnas  incuUa  is  the  Latin 
phrase  of  the  document — and  the  question  was  to  recur  after- 
ward manv  times,  as  we  shall  see.  whether  the  west  shore  of  the 
Delaware  ivas  unoccupied  by  white  men  in  the  year  1632.  Lord 
Baltimore  sent  out  two  ships,  the  Ark  and  the  Dove,  in  the  au- 
tumn of  i^>33.  under  the  command  of  his  brother,  Leonard  Cal- 
vert, whom  he  appointed  Governor,  and  in  March.  1^134.  they 
landed  at  St.  Mary's,  on  the  Potomac,  and  began  the  settlement. 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and  Federal 

We  should  rcniiiul  lurselvcs  ril  this  point  ol  tlie  great  events 
which  had  occurred  in  England  cku'ing  the  time  we  have  been 
tracing  the  struggling  life  of  the  white  men's  colonies  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Delaware,  from  the  day  of  DeVries  and  Swanendael 
down  to  the  supremacy  of  the  Dutch  flag  under  Stuyvesant.  The 
Civil  War  in  England  had  endured  from  1642  onward  to  the 
execution  of  King  Charles  in  1649.  Cromwell  had  ruled  Eng- 
land to  his  death  in  1658,  and  now,  in  1659,  as  the  settlers  at  New 
Amstel  began  to  be  concerned  about  the  Maryland  government's 
designs,  the  "restoration"  of  Charles  the  Second  was  impending. 

In  the  course  of  their  petty  troubles  a  particularly  vexatious 
experience  of  both  Dutch  and  Swedes  on  the  Delaware  had  been 
the  "desertion"  not  only  of  colonists,  but  of  enlisted  soldiers  and 
"servants,"  to  the  Maryland  settlements  along  the  Chesapeake. 
In  June,  1659,  Governor  Alrich  and  his  Council  at  New  Amstel 
decided  to  address  a  letter  to  the  Maryland  government,  asking 
the  rendition  of  six  soldiers  who  had  recently  absconded  in  that 
direction.  This  letter  they  sent  to  Colonel  Nathaniel  Utie,  an 
Englishman  who  occupied  the  island  in  Chesapeake  Bay,  opposite 
the  mouth  of  Elk  river,  known  as  Spesutia.  Utie  had  located 
there  to  trade  w'ith  the  Indians,  and  had  been  accorded  a  place  in 
the  Governor's  Council  in  Maryland,  and  besides  had  been  ap- 
pointed captain  in  the  military  force  of  the  province.  The  Dutch 
apparently  recognized  him  as  the  most  important  of  their  Mary- 
land neighbors. 

The  immediate  outcome  of  the  letter  to  Colonel  Utie  was  not 
at  all  what  (lovernor  Alrich  had  designed.  It  stirred  up  the 
^laryland  authorities  to  claim  that  the  whole  of  the  Delaware 
settlements  were  within  the  Maryland  grant.  The  Calverts  had 
long  held  this  \'iew,  but  an  opportune  moment  to  insist  upon  it 
had  not  before  appeared.  Colonel  Utie  now  told  the  New  .\m- 
stel  messenger  that  Lord  Baltimore  had  commanded  that  the 
lands  within  his  boundaries  "should  be  reviewed  and  surveyed, 
and  when  ascertained  be  reduced  under  his  jurisdiction,"  and  that 

118 


The  Dutch  Settlement 

he  himself  had  a  commission  to  go  to  Xew  Amstel  on  this  busi- 
ness. 

The  Governor  of  Maryland  at  this  time  was  Josias  Fendall, 
for  whom  even  the  historians  of  that  colony  and  state  have  few 
words  of  praise.  Fendall  and  his  Council,  at  Anne  Arundel. 
(Annapolis),  f)n  the  3d  of  August  (1659),  directed  Colonel 
Utie  to  repair  to  "the  pretended  governor  of  a  people  seated  in 
Delaware  F>ay,  within  his  lordship's  province,"  and  "to  require 
them  to  depart."  He  was  to  "insinuate"  to  them,  however,  if 
he  found  an  opportunit\-,  that  it  they  would  come  to  Maryland 
to  settle  they  would  find  "good  conditions"  and  "have  protection 
in  their  lives,  liberty  and  estates." 

It  resulted,  therefore,  that  on  the  6th  of  September,  Colonel 
Utie  and  a  party  of  five  companions  and  attendants,  with  four  of 
the  Dutch  deserters,  came  riding  into  New  Amstel.  Alrich  was 
already  nerve-shaken,  and  this  cavalcade  may  well  have  alarmed 
him.  Besides  the  droughts,  the  floods,  the  scarcity  of  food,  the 
weakness  of  the  fort,  the  slender  force  of  soldiers,  his  wnfe  had 
recently  died.  Though  the  veil  of  the  future  was  not  rent  for 
him.  his  own  death  lay  but  a  few^  weeks  distant. 

Colonel  Utie  presented  the  Maryland  demands  in  a  letter 
fr(^m  Fendall.  Beekman,  summoned  from  Altona,  joined  with 
Alrich  in  receiving  them.  The  Dutch  made  the  best  reply  they 
could  to  so  imperious  a  summons :  that  they  were  not  subject  to 
the  King  of  England,  but  to  the  States-General  of  the  Nether- 
lands;  that  their  colony  dated  back  many  years,  to  a  time  before 
Lord  Baltimore's  grant  had  been  heard  of;  and  that  they  liad  no 
anthoritv  to  surrender  lands  or  make  agreements,  and  must  refer 
the  whole  subject  to  Stuvvesant.  for  which  i)nrpose  a  reasonable 
time,  sav  three  weeks,  must  be  granted.  Utie.  according  to  the 
Dutch  officials'  report  to  Stuyvesant,  was  blustering  and  irritat- 
ing: he  told  them  their  weakness  was  evident,  and  that  it  would 
suit  him  best  to  seize  the  place  now,  when  the  tobacco  crop  was 
mostly  gathered.       Finally,  however,  he    agreed    to    grant  the 

119 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

three  weeks'  time,  and  after  a  stay  of  five  days  he  and  .his  suite 
departed. 

Stuyvesant,  at  Manhattan,  recei\'ed  news  of  these  doings 
with  characteristic  rage.  He  denounced  Utie  and  his  "friv- 
olous, fabricated  instructions ;"  he  ahnost  equally  rated  Alrich 
and  Beekman  and  their  advisers  for  their  "not  less  frivolous 
answers  and  proceedings,"  permitting  Utie  "to  sow  his  seditious 
and  mutinous  seed"  at  New  Amstel  "during  four  or  five  days." 
Such  conduct  showed,  he  said,  "unquestionable  proofs  of  w'ant  of 
prudence  and  courage."  The}'  had  earnestly  asked  for  help,  so 
he  sent  some  at  once,  sixty  soldiers — though  he  could  ill  spare 
them — under  command  of  the  valiant  Captain  Martin  Krygier, 
a  burgomaster  of  New  Amsterdam.  Also  he  sent  "the  beloved, 
discreet  and  faithful"  Cornelius  Van  Ruyven,  his  secretary,  who 
with  Krygier  should  make  a  commission  to  sift  thoroughly  the 
situation  on  the  South  river.  Still  further,  he  commissioned 
two  others,  Augustine  Heermans,  (or  Herman)  and  Resolved 
Waldron  to  go  forthwith  on  an  embassy  to  Maryland.  Herman 
was  a  well  known  figure  later  as  the  "lord"  of  Bohemia  Manor, 
on  the  Chesapeake;  Waldron  was  the  "under  schout"  at  New 
Amsterdam.  Stuyvesant  directed  them  to  see  the  Maryland 
authorities,  request  the  surrender  of  fugitives,  maintain  the  valid- 
ity of  the  Dutch  claims  on  the  Delaware,  and  demand  reparation 
for  the  "frivolous  demands  and  bloody  threatening"  of  Utie. 

It  resulted  that  nothing  further  of  importance  came  of  the 
Maryland  demonstrations.  Utie  did  not  return  at  the  end  of  the 
three  weeks,  or  at  all.  The  five  hundred  men  whom  it  was  re- 
ported he  would  bring  to  subdue  New  Amstel  and  Altona  never 
appeared  before  those  places.  Instead,  how^ever.  Van  Ruyven 
and  Krygier,  Stuyvesant's  commissioners,  did  come,  and  insti- 
tuted an  inquiry  into  Alrich's  management,  the  outcome  of  which 
w-as  an  acrimonious  dispute  between  him  and  them,  which  had 
hardly  subsided  when  Alrich  died,  at  the  end  of  December,  1659. 
Herman  and  Waldron  proceeded  at  once  to  Maryland,  and  the 

120 


The  Dutch  Settlement 

journal  of  their  trip,  written  by  Herman,  is  an  interesting  and 
valuable  document.  They  left  Xew  Amstel  on  the  30th  of  Sep- 
tember, overland,  with  Indian  guides,  and  a  few  soldiers.  Reach- 
ing the  heads  of  Elk  river  they  procured  a  boat  and  paddled  down 
that  stream  to  Chesapeake  bay,  and  carefully  avoiding  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Spesutia  island — on  which  sounds  of  a  "frolic"  were 
heard — reached  Kent  island  on  the  3d  of  October.  On  the  4th 
they  were  at  Severn  river,  and  on  the  6th  they  reached  the  Pa- 
tuxent.  On  the  8th  they  met  Philip  Calvert,  the  provincial 
secretary,  and  after  some  delay  a  formal  meeting  was  arranged, 
with  Governor  Fendall  and  his  Council,  "at  Mr.  Bateman's,  at 
Patuxent."  This  was  held  at  last  on  the  i6th,  and  was  the  first 
of  a  series  of  conferences  in  which,  naturally,  the  principal  theme 
of  discussion  was  the  question  of  superior  claim  on  the  Dela- 
ware. There  was  plenty  of  good  cheer,  after  the  Maryland 
manner  then  and  since,  and  in  the  intervals  of  eating  and  drink- 
ing the  debates  grew^  earnest.  At  one  time  the  Maryland  people 
said  that  Lord  Baltimore's  right,  being  that  of  the  English  crown, 
rested  upon  the  discoveries  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  whereupon 
the  Dutch  envoys  said  their  rights  came  still  earlier  from  ex- 
plorers sent  out  by  the  King  of  Spain,  to  which  the  United 
Netherlands,  by  the  treaty  of  peace  with  him.  had  succeeded. 

On  the  17th  of  October,  Gov.  Fendall  exhibited  the  patent  of 
King  Charles  to  Lord  Baltimore,  and  showed  that  it  granted  him 
land  from  Watkins  Point,  on  Chesapeake  bay,  "northward  unto 
the  fortieth  degree  of  latitude,  and  from  the  Atlantic  ocean  and 
Delaware  bay  on  the  east  to  the  Potomac  river  on  the  west."  The 
en\oys  were,  no  doubt,  quite  prepared  to  learn  this,  for  in  a  con- 
versation earlier  with  Secretary  Calvert  he  had  told  them  that 
Maryland  extended  to  the  limits  of  New  England,  and  being 
asked,  "Where  then,  would  New  Netherland  come  in?"  calmly 
answered  he  did  not  know ! 

Herman  and  Waldron.  however,  inspected  the  patent  care- 
fully, and  were  not  long  in  fastening  upon  one  of  its  weak  points. 

I2[ 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

In  a  nK'iiKjranduin  which  thc_\-  (h'cw  u])  they  pointed  out  the  Jiac- 
fcnas  iiiciilfa  clause,  the  recital  that  Baltimore  had  asked  the 
King  for  land  "not  cultivated  or  planted,  but  only  inhabited  as 
yet  by  barbarous  Indians."  whereis,  they  said,  their  people  had 
before  1632  been  settled  ui)on  the  South  river.  The  Maryland 
claim,  they  said,  went  back  but  twenty-seven  years,  whereas  the 
Dutch  had  been  in  possession  for  forty  years — a  statement  which 
could  hardly  be  justified  unless  the  supposed  voyage  of  Hendrick- 
sen  in  1616,  in  the  Oiintst,  could  be  established.  That  De  Vries 
had  planted  his  colony  at  Swanendael  in  the  early  part  of  163 1, 
a  full  year  before  Lord  Baltimore's  grant,  there  was  no  doubt, 
but  it  was  equally  beyond  question — as  the  Swedes  had  insisted 
— that  that  settlement  had  been  al)andoned  almost  as  soon  as  be- 
gun. 

The  result  of  the  conferences,  however,  evidently  was  to  im- 
press the  Maryland  officials  with  a  doubt  of  the  complete  validity 
of  their  claims  upon  the  Delaware.  Colonel  Utie  declared  that 
he  would  like  an  opportunity  to  repeat  his  visit  to  New  Amstel 
with  a  fresh  commission,  but  Secretary  Calvert  and  others  of  the 
Council  were  more  conciliatory.  What  Fendall  thought  did  not 
much  matter,  as  he  was  nearing  the  end  of  his  service  as  Gov- 
ernor. On  the  20th  of  October  Waldron  departed  for  Manhat- 
tan, "with  the  reports,  papers,  and  documents,"  while  Herman 
proceeded  to  Virginia  to  try  to  make  friends  with  the  Governor 
there,  in  case  of  a  possible  future  conflict  with  Maryland. 

No  disturbance,  therefore,  of  the  peace  of  New-  Amstel  was 
caused  by  the  Maryland  government.  Nor  did  any  other  enemy 
appear  for  five  years.  The  colonists  on  the  Delaware  continued 
much  as  before.  At  the  death  of  Alrich,  Alexander  d'Hino- 
yossa  succeeded  as  Deputy-Governor,  and  though  his  abilities 
tended  much  more  to  distraction  than  order,  and  he  pleased  ap- 
parently no  one  but  himself — certainly  not  Beekman,  or  Stuy- 
vesant,  as  their  letters  and  reports  abundantly  show — he  held  his 
place  to  the  end  of   the    Dutch    rule    in    1664.       Few    events    in 

122 


The  Dutch  Settlement 

1660-63  tlemaiul  extcndecl  notice.  D'Hinoyossa's  arbitrary  con- 
duct, which  Stuyvesant  conld  nut  control  Ijecause  the  City  of  Am- 
sterdam owned  the  New  Amstel  colony,  made  no  small  part  of 
Beekman's  letters.  Even  worse  was  D'Hinoyossa's  behavior  to 
the  Indians.  The  sale  of  liquor  to  them  went  on  almost  un- 
checked. Beekman's  letters  abound  in  details  of  this.  In  May, 
1660,  he  quotes  the  testimony  of  several  persons  that  for  a  long 
time  no  regard  had  been  paid  by  the  Governor  "to  the  sale  of 
strong  drinks  to  the  savages,  so  that  they  run  about  with  it  in  the 
daytime,  and  discharge  their  guns  near  the  houses,"  etc.  A 
few  weeks  later,  June  30,  he  writes  to  Stuyvesant : 

"Sir,  I  cannot  omit  to  inform  your  honor  that  I  see  many 
drunken  savages  daily,  and  I  am  told  that  they  sit  drinking  pub- 
licly in  some  taverns.  On  the  14th  inst.,  when  I  went  with 
Capt.  Jacop  and  Mons.  Schreck  to  the  house  of  Foppe  Janssen  (a 
tavern)  to  salute  Afr.  Rendel  Revel,  who  had  come  overland  from 
Virginia,  while  we  were  there  several  drunken  savages  came  be- 
fore the  windows,  so  that  it  was  a  disgrace  in  presence  of 
strangers.  Likew'ise  our  soldiers  and  others  ha\'e  told  me  that 
the  savages  had  an  entire  anker  of  anise-liquor  on  the  strand  near 
the  church,  and  sat  around  it  drinking.  One  Gerret,  the  smith, 
came  also  at  the  same  time  complaining;  he  lives  in  the  back  part 
of  the  town  near  the  edge  of  the  forest,  and  says  that  he  is  much 
annoyed  by  drunken  savages  every  night." 

One  of  the  w^orst  offenders  in  the  liquor  selling  was  an  offi- 
cial at  Altona,  the  "clerk  and  reader"  for  the  Fort,  Jan  Juriaens 
Becl-cer.  Despite  his  semi-clerical  character,  he  was  a  bold  of- 
fender, and  supplied  both  soldiers  and  Indians  with  brandy  in  the 
face  of  Beekman's  protests.  Finally  he  was  brought  to  trial 
at  Manhattan,  and  then  accused  others  of  the  same  thing.  He 
declared,  indeed,  that  it  would  he  hard  to  find  manv  persons  on 
the  South  river  who  did  not  sell  liquor  to  the  In<lians.  "because 
without  it  it  is  hard  to  get  provisions" —  a  statement  which  finds 
some  support  in  a  letter  of  Beekman    himself,    a    little    later,  in 

'^3 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

which  he  says  to  Stuyvesant,  "I  need  also  two  ankers  of  brandy 
or  distilled  water  to  barter  it  next  month  for  maize  for- the  garri- 
son, as  it  is  easier  obtained  for  liquor  than  for  other  goods." 
Becker  submitted  the  affidavits  of  three  persons  in  his  defense, 
who  declared  not  only  that  liquor  was  "openly  sold  to  the  sav- 
ages in  the  Colony  and  in  and  near  Fort  Altona."  but  that  if  the 
"poor  inhabitants"  did  not  sell  or  barter  liquor  to  the  Indians  for 
"maize,  meat,  and  other  things,  they  would  perish  from  hunger." 
And  another  afi:davit  submitted  by  Becker  declared  that  Alrich 
had  once  sent  the  deponents  "with  several  ankers  of  brandy  and 
Spanish  wine  in  a  sloop  to  the  savages,  to  trade  them  for  Indian 
corn,  or  wampum  or  whatever  they  could  best  obtain." 

Becker  was  convicted  and  fined,  but  upon  his  earnest  pleading 
that  the  fine  would  ruin  him,  and  that  the  liquor  traffic  "was  car- 
ried on  so  openly  by  high  and  low  officers  of  the  state,"  that  he 
thought  it  a  venial  matter  for  him  occasionally  to  trade  some 
brandy  "for  Indian  corn  and  deer  meat,"  the  main  penalty  was 
remitted. 

The  Indians  themselves  were  well  aware  of  the  ruin  brought 
upon  them  by  the  "fire-water."  Beekman  writes  in  March,  1662. 
that  at  Tinneconck  some  of  the  "river"  chiefs  had  "addressed 
tl.emselves  to  Mr.  Hendrick  Huyghen,"  and  had  "proposed  and 
requested  that  no  more  brandy  or  strong  drink  should  be  sold"  to 
their  people.  They  presented  three  belts  of  wampum  to  support 
the  petition,  and  Beekman  remarks  that  "the  request  was  a  proper 
one,"  agreeing  with  Stuyvesant's  orders,  and  the  placards  posted 
about.  D'Hinoyossa  acted  upon  it  by  threatening  a  fine  of  300 
guilders  on  any  trader  caught  selling  liquor  to  the  natives,  and 
also  authorizing  the  Indians  themseh'es  "to  rob  those  who  bring 
liquors." 

The  consequences  of  the  liquor  traffic,  open  or  illicit,  were 
quarrels  and  bloodshed.  The  drunken  Indian,  equally  with  the 
flrunken  white  man,  was  capable  of  every  mischief,  and  it  was  the 
pitiable  experience  of  the  little  hamlets  at  New  Amstel  and  Al- 

124 


j        CHARLES  R. 

i?C^t-''(i9VVA?a'I('<i'/3^ii,  iKvras  Ois  CvJauiU'.  m  toUiititiAtioH  of  tl)f  gifata3nu  auo  .faiclitiii 
\:  -^:;^7W5iV''a   ■atniifcsol  ■a^irvc'iiii: '  i'^-    luftafcO,  ant)(o)CiVrrsotl;rr  gooD  C.iufrc 
I  '-L-'  '         "'■''X^''\   Uiiw  ilirrfiuuo  inolima>  iMti)  linii  OiaciounvptfalcD  l3V  Efttrrs  pa 

I  ^?>^  -'ri    triusbraviug  Datf  tlic  VcuttI)  ^avof '!  u'-ian  pan,tooilifaiil)C>2anc 

£'„  ,    ,       "iV^'^    -  •    unto  ^^  ii'-'  i'-'i"€fouitf,  fron  aiiD  UfitofttK  faiD  S)r  V' .;'•>""  '■>". 
I  ^^i'^V'kiii.T'^rvf^  •!"  "I'^f  uvaifof  JLAiiD mil.  K, ....  catlcDbvtlir  f.'aiiif  of  r.n.i.iva..,.-  ns 

yjhiji  ''  -^v"/ V>\    till-  fame  IS  i,>ouut)rD on  tl)f  Catt  bv  i^'  '■  ■  -'f-  liiucr,  from  T\)k\\x  (B\US 
'  ^''^''•^'''*:t*Vc^-v\  riftamr  OoMinuarOGof  >   •  'i"  roilm,  uiiro  flir  iZlurf  anDfourtirrli 

^     %>k'-"--^>?^.'^  '.  Drur.rof  P.oifliirii  EantuDr,  if  the  faiDliiDfrOotDntinD  fofar  j'}o;tl) 
0$^i^':r/-\fit^-^<  U'arD5,  aiiD  if  rlir  '".iiD  l\iD(r  fluill  not  citcnD  fo  far  j^onliU'.uD,  thru 
I  ^^^Htl'fife'w^^-^-^  b)>tl)ffaiDl\airr''ofarasit  DothrrrtiiD:  ^Inofrom  the  I'fat)  of  tlic  faiD 

llilirr.  tlK<£arrfcn^iiUiiJ5S  to  be  DrtrrinincD  b\>  v.  M  >  '•:   Unu  co  br 
OMWni  from  t.,.  l-ciOcf  tljr  faiD  tiibcv,  unto  thrfaib  TJm  .\nt)  fcurttcthCrgrri,  tiic  faiDp'o 
bnur  to  fitrnb  CiifaVi'iViQ  f lUf  Dforrrs  iii  liougitulK,  to  br  t'oiiiputcD  from  tlic  faiD  t.utcri'. 
iscuncs,  anDtobfiioiuiDrDontDr  i^onli,  brlltr  lifgmnmg  of  the  i^lurcanDfourtirth  Drgtcr  of 
]  r.02tl)crn  li.itituCr,  ann en  tl)c  South bv  a  Citclc Dialbn  at  CUirlUf  €?ilfG  biftanrr  frcm  k^  -.. lii-.- 

I  poitDUcrfs,  anD  CClr.'^il^xrDs  unn  tlir  jjfgiuniiig  of  tlir  fourtiftDDrgvrc  of  jvonhan  Eati 

tuDr,  .-iit)ii-,ciibr-a(:i.v:jiit  jimrcciffiuiarr'sio  tin-  limit  of  ii.c:lgltll^^abou  ituiitior.cb,  togctlKt 
ibifljall  poUifrs,  p:ri;niimfnrifs  .v.ib  jhirisoimouc  nrrrlTarr  fo:  tlir  oiVjciiimrnt  of  iiii  fa.o p:o- 
liuur.  as  bvtljc  faib  Errtcrs  patents.  l»*(frrnrr  being  tlitrcuiuo  Dao,  bctli  mouat  largc^ppcav. 
l)isC)a;r!lvOot!)t;ifrrfo:r  lifrfbi'pulHiil)  anbDfflavf  liiG  Ivovai  Cl'.iU  anoplrafurr,  i-ljat  all 
'  pcrfor.:. -^rfttlrooz  jlnDabitingniitlim  tliniiiimoof  tlif  faiDp:ob  lur,  tioviclD  alirnr  ObfDiaitc 

totDrfai:.    ■.!!.-: ..  iv   i,  piGDfirsauD^lKrrns,  as  abfolutf  p:op;ictaric5  anbonUiriiourGtlUTfii.', 
'         asatfo  to  ll;r  Dcputv  OJ  Drputirs,  Jlgrntsc:  iC^rntrnanrs,  UalUfullv  Comuiiftionatrt)  br  Ivm  o! 
tlifiii,  arrozDmg  to  thcPcVorrG  aun  ,lntho:itir6  OMntrD  b)' tDr  faiD  itrttrrs  patrnts    CSiHrrc 
1         iDitl)  l)'2  '"lait-av  €vprfrs  anb  Ucouirr s  a  vcabp  Complraurr  from  all  prrfons  iDDom  it  niav  ron 
I         rrrn,  as  rOrp  trnbcr  ins  iBairftirs  Difplrafurr. 

Civc;i  It  the  Court  ^t  li  mh/.i// :i,(.  Slxo  J  day  of //»«'  idSi.  li  t'lcTlucC  anJtliiitiitli  yeir  of  OurRcigii. 

I  Tollc  Jiihiit.iiiismd  TUii-  By  His  NUjcllics  Commind, 

tcii  of  the  Trovmtr    cj 
'  PcnnllUAnii.  C  O  N  V  A  Y. 


L  0  ^DOX^, 

Printed  by  rlic  Affigns  of  fohn  'Bill,  Thomas  S^TOComB, 
and  Henry  Hilh,  Printers  ti^  tlic  Kings  moft 
ExCL-lk-nt Majefty .   i<S S i . 


Proclamation  of  the  Cliartor  to  William   Pcnii.   .\\^r\\  2.   W181 


The  Dutch   Settlement 

tona  during  these  years  to  see  this  fully  exemplified.  In  Xovem- 
ber.  1659,  Beekman  writes  that  at  Altona  six  Indians,  inflamed 
with  Becker's  brandy,  disturbed  the  place,  were  pursued  by  the 
soldiers  "into  the  buslies."  and  came  back  later  and  stole  two 
1)lankets  and  a  gun.  A  few  weeks  after,  "two  soldiers  being 
drunk" — again  on  Becker's  liquor — "burned  a  little  Indian 
canoe,  whereupon  the  savages  tlireatened  to  set  fire  to  a  house  or 
kill  some  cattle,"  so  that  Beekman  had  to  interfere  and  pacify 
them.  I>ut,  worse  still,  an  Indian  who  had  been  drinking  in  the 
woods  with  a  white  man,  I  Meter  Ma\er.  was  next  morning  found 
dead,  "a  little  further  into  the  woods."  w  hereu])r)n  the  other  In- 
dians threatened  the  man  who  had  sold  the  liquor,  saying  he  had 
])ut  poison  in  it.  Presently  they  set  the  dead  body  "upon  a  hur- 
dle, and  put  it  on  four  great  prongs,'"  opposite  the  house  where 
the  liquor  was  bought,  as  a  "curse''  to  the  place. 

Worse  followed.  A  week  after  the  report  of  these  occur- 
rences, Beekman  wrote  that  two  Indians  had  been  killed  "l)v 
Christians,''  and  their  bodies  found  "in  the  underbrush  or  marshy- 
places  near  New  Amstel."  Presently  it  appeared  that  three  had 
been  killed,  instead  of  two;  it  "was  done  upon  the  farm  of  the 
late  Mr.  Alrich  by  his  two  serxants."  Stuyvesant,  in  a  letter  t" 
Holland,  calls  it  a  "cruel  murder,'"  committed  "only  from  the 
damnable  desire  of  wam])um."  the  ^■ictims  being  "a  man.  a 
woman  and  a  l)oy."  The  murderers  were  known,  and  had  been 
arrested,  but  D"IIinoyossa  and  his  Council  released  them.  The 
settlers  were  alarmed,  fearing  bloody  reprisals  by  the  Indians, 
and  endeavors  were  hastily  made  to  conciliate  the  neighboring 
chiefs.  Beekman  wrote  to  the  Swedish  sheriff  Van  Dyck  to 
come  to  Altona  to  meet  the  Indians  for  that  purpose,  the  Swedes 
being  "better  acquainted  with  the  temper  and  manner  of  the  sav- 
ages than  we  new-comers."  but  \'an  Dyck  excused  himself,  say- 
ing the  Indians  had  told  them  not  to  "trouble  themselves  with  the 
matter."  .\n  incident  a  little  later  (April,  1660)  may  be  added  here. 
Jan  Barentsen,  a  carpenter,  was  killed  by  the  Indians  in  the  direc- 

127 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

tion  of  ^Maryland,  and  his  wife  died,  either  at  Colonel  Utie's  or 
at  the  house  of  "Jacob,''  an  Indian  trader  in  the  Susquehanna 
region.  A  child  of  this  unfortunate  couple  survived,  and  the 
romantic  story  attached  to  it  that  it  had  been  born  in  Holland 
"at  the  de|)arture  of  ]\lr.  Alrich,  in  the  ship  Priiis  Mauritc,"  in 
1657,  and  had  been  christened  "Amstelhoop""  (Hope  of  Amstel), 
"at  the  request  of  the  Lords  Burgomasters." 

The  revenge  of  blood  for  the  three  Indians  killed  near  New 
Amstel  came  early  in  May,  1661,  when  four  white  men,  three 
English  and  one  Dutch,  were  killed  by  Indians  on  the  road  from 


.Signature  of  Thomas  l.loyd:  governor  of  Pennsylvania:  born  1640;  died  1694 

Xew  Amstel  to  the  Maryland  settlements.  As  the  news  spread, 
the  neighboring  Indians,  expecting  now  to  be  attacked  by  the 
whites,  hid  "in  great  fear"  for  two  weeks.  Two  of  them,  how- 
e\-er,  had  brought  to  Xew  Amstel  some  of  the  clothing  of  the 
slain  victims,  and  offered  it  for  sale.  They  were  arrested,  but 
after  an  examination  released  by  DT-iinoyossa  as  "not  the  right 
savages."  The  crime  aroused  general  excitement  and  alarm. 
The  Mar}-land  authorities  upbraided  D'Hinoyossa  for  his  action, 
and  reports  quickly  spread  that  the  English  of  that  province 
would  come  in  force  and  inflict  their  own  punishment  on  the  In- 
dians. The  river  Indians  were  terrified  at  the  rumor,  and  many 
of  them  met  at  Passyunk  to  collect  wampum  for  presents  to  the 
Minquas  to  induce  them  to  intervene.  "The  Minquas,"  Beek- 
man  adds  in  repeating  this,  had  "already  offered  presents  in  pel- 
tries to  the  Governor  of  Maryland  for  this  matter,  but  he  refused 
to  accept  them,  and  had  on  the  contrary  requested  them  to  go  and 
destroy  the  river  savages,  which  they  declined  to  do."  A  few 
weeks  later,  commissioners  from  Maryland  appeared  at  New  Am- 
stel, and  DT-IinoyQssa  summoned  the  river  chiefs  from  Passyunk 

128 


The  Dutch  Settlement 

and  other  places  to  a  conference  to  compose  the  troubles.  Only 
one  chief  ventured  to  come,  and  he  was  from  the  east  side  of  the 
river,  not  the  west,  but  the  meeting  was  held  at  Appoquinimy,  on 
the  border  line  of  the  Maryland  country.  Governor  Calvert  him- 
self  attended,  "and  made  peace  with  the  aforesaid  sachem,  and 
merry  with  D'Hinoyossa."  This  conclusion  was  pleasing,  no 
doubt,  to  the  absent  "river  chiefs,"  who  had  been  saying  to  An- 
dreas Hudde  and  others  that  "the  English  have  killed  some  of 


■'Tt) 


l^^tXycJ   J /l^//i//i Shi^ 


r^ 


Signature  of  lidward  Sliippen;  member  Provincial  Council,  i6g6-i7i?;  judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  1697;  mayor  of  Philadelphia,  1701 

ours,  and  we  again  some  of  theirs,"  and  that  one  would  "set  off 
against  the  other." 

Nor  have  these  details  quite  exhausted  the  evil  story.  Early  in 
September,  1662,  Joris  Floris,  an  old  man,  was  driving  through 
the  forest,  near  New  Amstel,  with  a  wagon  drawn  by  two  horses, 
when  he  was  "shot  down  from  the  horse"  and  scalped.  Beekman 
wrote  that  he  thought  a  river  Indian  had  been  previously  shot  by 
the  whites,  and  that  this  was  an  act  in  reprisal ;  but  further  inquiry 
made  the  murder  more  mysterious.  A  few  weeks  later,  in  No- 
vember, "about  an  hour  after  evening,"  a  young  man,  a  servant  of 
Jan  Staelcop,  the  miller  near  Altona,  was  killed  "about  four  hun- 
dred steps  from  the  Fort."  The  river  Indians  charged  this  on 
the  Minquas  or  Senecas,  and  a  fortnight  after,  five  Minqua  chiefs, 
with  their  suites,  came  to  Beekman  at  Altona,  alleging  that  the 
act  had  been  committed  by  a  captive  Seneca  belonging  to  them. 
They  declared  their  own  good  will.  "As  long  as  any  Christians 
have  lived  here,"  they  said,  "it  never  can  be  proved  that  any  ill  or 
violence  has  been  done  them  by  our  nation,"  though  three  years 

1-9  129 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

betDi'e.  the}'  added,  a  Min(|ua  Indian  had  lieen  killed  hv  the  Chris- 
tians at  New  Anistel.  Often,  they  said,  they  had  mediated  for 
]ieace  between  the  Christians  and  (sther  Indians. 

The  war  of  the  Iroquois  tribes,  at  this  period,  upon  the  In- 
dians of  the  Susquehanna,  has  been  referred  to  in  an  earHer 
chapter.  Beeknian  wrote  at  the  end  of  May,  1661.  that  "the 
Minquas  and  the  Sinnecus  are  at  war  with  each  other."  Six 
weeks  later  he  repeated  this,  and  added  a.  report  that  "the  English 
from  Maryland  have  assisted  the  Minquas  with  fifty  men  in  their 
fort."  In  October  he  heard  that  the  Alinquas  were  hard  pressed 
l)y  the  Senecas,  and  that  the  latter  had  killed  twelve  river  Indians 
on  the  river  "a  little  above  the  Swedish  settlement,"  so  that  the 
Swedes  now  feared  the  Senecas  would  kill  their  cattle.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1662,  he  reported  the  war  on  the  Susquehanna  continuing-, 
and  in  December  the  Minqua  chiefs  visiting  Altona  said  they 
were  expecting  the  aid  of  eight  hundred  "black  Minquas,"  of 
whom  two  hundred  had  already  come.  Next  spring  they  would 
resume  their  war  against  the  Senecas  and  assail  them  in  their  own 
stronghold — "visit  their  fort."  In  May  following,  1663,  how- 
ever, the  Senecas  were  first  in  the  field.  "Jacob,"  the  Indian 
trader,  sent  word  to  Andreas  Hudde  that  1600  Senecas — an 
exaggerated  figure,  of  course — with  their  wives  and  children, 
were  marching  on  the  Minquas,  and  were  then  but  two  days  dis- 
tant. Later  Beekman  repeats  this  story,  but  reports  the  Senecas 
as  only  eight  hundred,  and  relates  that  the  Minquas  had  made  a 
sally  from  their  fort,  and  had  driven  of¥  their  assailants,  pursu- 
ing them  for  two  days,  killing  ten  and  capturing  others. 

The  lugubrious  story  of  drunkenness,  quarrels,  mtirders,  and 
wars  made  the  dark  side  of  the  colony's  life;  there  was,  however, 
a  better  side.  A  cheerful  feature  was  the  confidence  shown  in 
the  Indians  by  selecting  them  as  guides  and  messengers.  The 
letters  of  Alrich  and  Beekman,  if  sent  overland,  as  was  the  rule, 
were  given  to  an  Indian  to  carry.  He  went  in  a  boat  to  Meg- 
geckessou.  the  falls  of  the  Delaware  at  Trenton,  and  thence  by 

130 


The   Dutch   Settlement 

land  to  Comnuinipaw,  opposite  New  Amsterdam.  In  many  let- 
ters Beekman  adds  the  memnrandum  that  he  is  sending  it  "by  a 
savage."  "On  the  9th  instant,  at  night,  I  sent  a  savage  to  your 
honor."  "Sir,  this  is  in  haste,  as  the  savage  is  very  urgent  to 
leave  with  the  tide."  "Mr.  Beekman"  (writes  Andreas  Hudde) 
"has  requested  me  to  forward  this,  .  .  therefore  I  have  hired 
this  savage  thereto:  he  is  to  have  at  the  Manahatas  a  cloth  and  a 
pair  of  socks."  "(ientlemen,  I  have  promised  the  bearer,  .  . 
a  piece  of  cloth  and  a  pair  of  socks  provided  he  brings  over  the 
letter  in  four  uv  five  days  at  the  utmost."  These  are  some  of  the 
many  references  to  the  subject.  As  the  plan  was  consistently 
maintained  it  is  evident  that  the  Indians  proved  faithful  carriers. 

The  name  of  an  Indian  runner,  Sipaelle,  is  given  in  one  letter, 
but  few  other  names  of  the  local  Indians  are  known.  Becker, 
the  brandy-selling  clerk,  says  he  gave  a  drink  occasionally  to 
friendly  sachems  such  as  "Meckeck  Schinck,  W'echnarent.  Are- 
weehing,  and  Hoppaming,"  but  of  none  of  these  have  we  any 
other  account  than  the  dram-drinking  except  in  the  case  of  Hop- 
paming. Of  him  Beekman  relates,  in  January.  1661.  that  "about 
fourteen  days  ago,  the  grave  of  one  Hoppemink,  an  Indian  chief, 
was  robbed ;  he  had  been  buried  a  short  time  before  (in  Xew  Am- 
stel).  They  took  out  of  it  a  party  of  wampum,  3  or  4  pieces  of 
duffel,  and  further  what  he  had  with  him;  the  savages  murmur 
about  it,  and  may  perhaps  undertake  something  bad." 

It  had  been  a  fixed  plan  of  the  Dutch  officials  to  collect  the 
Swedes  into  compact  communities,  where  they  could  l^e  more 
readily  watched.  But  though  numerous  efforts  were  made,  the 
time  never  came  when  this  could  be  effected.  The  Swedes 
naturally  did  not  desire  to  leave  the  homes  they  had  made.  Beek- 
man went  among  them  at  different  times  to  persuade  them  to  re- 
move, but  he  had  himself  little  heart  in  the  undertaking,  and  re- 
ported to  Stuyvesant  that  the  difficulties  were  great.  In  April. 
1660,  he  writes  that  he  has  been  with  the  Swedes  and  Finns  "sev- 
eral days."       There  was  a  dispute  among  those  at  Kingsesse  and 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 


Aroenemeck  which  should  remove — in  which  neighborhood  they 
should  concentrate.  "Nobody  is  willing  to  make  room,  .  . 
everyone  asserts  that  he  will  keep  his  entire  lot  and  fields."  At 
Tinicum  Madam  Papegoia  declared  she  could  not  remove,  "on 
account  of  her  heavy  buildings,  also  because  the  church  stands 


Seal  of  David  Lloyd 

there."  A  sergeant,  Andries  Lourens,  had  tried  to  enlist  some 
Swedes  for  the  Esopus  war  against  the  Indians,  but  none  would 
go;  Beekman  believed  their  head  men  had  advised  them  "not  to 
scatter  themselves,  but  to  keep  about  here" — which  is  very  likely. 
For  the  time  he  decided  that  they  should  not  be  disturbed  until 
they  could  gather  their  harvests,  and  in  May  Peter  Kock  and  two 
other  deputies  came  to  represent  that  the  proposed  removal  was 
impracticable,  and  to  say  that  if  they  must  break  up,  "then  we 
shall  go  away  to  where  we  may  remain  living  in  peace."  Finally 
the  Dutch  officials  appear  to  have  abandoned  the  scheme. 

132 


The  Dutch   Settlement 

It  is  probable  that  the  Swedes  had  in  some  cases  a  definite 
grant  of  land.  In  the  recitals  of  old  titles  in  Delaware  there  is 
occasionally  a  reference  to  a  grant  by  Stuyvesant,  though  no 
original  papers  appear  to  be  extant. 

The  division  of  the  Dutch  territory  into  separate  jurisdictions 
and  interests  was  obviously  a  grave  disadvantage.  In  1663, 
therefore,  the  City  of  Amsterdam  acquired  from  the  West  India 
Company  all  its  claims  upon  the  South  river.  The  matter  was 
under  negotiation  throughcuit  the  year;  at  the  end  of  December 
Stuyvesant  executed  a  formal  act  ceding  to  D'Hinoyossa,  as  the 
representative  of  the  burghers  of  Amsterdam,  "the  South  River 
from  the  sea  upwards,  so  far  as  that  river  extends  itself — toward 
the  country,  on  the  East  side  three  miles  from  the  border  of  the 
river,  and  toward  the  \\'est  side  so  far  as  the  country  extends  un- 
til it  reaches  the  English  colonies." 

D'Hinoyossa,  who  had  been  to  Holland,  and  had  explained 
to  the  burghers  of  Amsterdam  the  great  possibilities  of  trade  and 
population  on  the  Delaware,  came  back  as  the  ruler  of  the  whole 
river,  triumphing  thus  over  Beekman,  whoste  office  was  now  end- 
ed, and  over  Stuy\'esant,  whose  authority  he  had  defied.  He 
reached  New  Amstel  December  3,  1663,  in  the  ship  de  Puruier- 
lander  Kcrck  (the  Church  of  Purmerland),  with  Peter  Alrich 
and  Israel  Helm  "as  members  of  the  High  Council,"  and  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  immigrants.  He  proceeded  at  once  to  or- 
ganize his  colony,  and  his  policy  appeared  more  favorable  to  the 
Swedes  than  Stuyvesant's  had  been.  Peter  Cock  was  app(^inted 
collector  of  tolls  on  imports  and  exports,  and  Israel  Helm  to 
supervise  the  fur  trade  "at  the  upper  end  of  Passyunk." 

All  this,  however,  was  in  vain.  It  recalls  the  energy  of  Ris- 
ingh  just  before  Stuyvesant  swooped  down  upon  him  in  1655. 
The  English  lion  was  now  ready  to  devour  New  Netherland.  The 
summer  of  1664  brought  the  catastrophe,  when  the  fleet  of  the 
Duke  of  York  appeared  at  Manhattan.  In  September  Stuyvesant 
surrendered  there,  and  in  October  the  colony    (tf    D'Hinoyossa 

133 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

Avas  captured.       We  shall  speak  of  these  events  in  more  detail,  in 
the  chapter  following-. 

The  number  of  white  people  on  the  west  hank  of  the  Delaware 
river,  at  the  close  of  the  year  1664  can  only  be  conjectured.  There 
were,  no  doubt,  fully  a  thousand,  and  possibly  there  were  twice 
that  number.  I^Tlinoyossa  represented  at  Amsterdam,  in  1663, 
that  there  were  people  on  "one  hundred  and  ten  plantations,"  be- 
sides those  living  in  the  towns,  soldiers,  etc.  In  1659  it  had 
been  proposed  to  tax  the  Swedes  "five  or  six  guilders  for  each 
family,"  and  Beekman  estimated  that  this  would  produce  about 
four  hundred  guilders,  thus  indicating  that  there  were  not  over 
eighty  Swedish  families.  In  March,  1660,  he  reported  that 
Sheriff  Van  Dyck  said  "the  Swedes  and  Finns  count  about  130 
men  capable  to  bear  arms,"  which  would  indicate  a  total  Swedish 
and  Finnish  population  of  at  least  six  hundred. 

The  colonists  were  located  on  or  near  the  river.  A  handful 
of  soldiers  probably  remained  at  the  Delaware  capes,  and  there 
was  also  there  a  little  colony  of  communistic  "Mennonites"  whom 
Peter  Cornelius  Plockhoy  had  brought  over  from  Holland  a  few 
months  earlier.  Northward  from  the  capes  to  Bombay  Hook, 
and  thence  to  New  Amstel,  there  was  hardly  a  white  man's  home. 
New  Amstel  itself  was  the  most  important  place  on  the  river— 
though  D'Hinoyossa  proposed  now  to  locate  the  colonial  capital 
at  Appoquinimy  (now  Appoquinimink),  southeast  from  New 
Amstel,  as  a  better  point  from  which  to  trade  with  Maryland.  Al- 
tona,  besides  its  decayed  "fort,"  had  a  few  houses.  Then,  north- 
ward, the  clearings  and  plantings  of  the  Swedes  extended  to 
where  Philadelphia  now  stands,  most  of  them  being  north  of  the 
Pennsylvania  line.  There  were  some  centers  of  activity  and 
life;  Marcus  Hook,  Upland,  Tinicum  (occasionally  called  New 
Leyden),  Passyunk,  Kingsessing  and  Karakung  (the  old  Swedes 
Mill ).  were  places  known  to  all.  white  and  red,  who  had  acfjuaint- 
ance  with  the  South  River  colcjnv. 


'34 


CHAPTER  V 

UNDER  THE  DUKE  OF  YORK.— 1664- 1681 

Tl  I  \i  Dutch  had  had  many  warnings  of  the  l^nghsh  purpose, 
h^rom  the  side  of  New  JCngland  encroachments  had  heen 
coming  on  Long  Island,  and  on  the  mainland,  almost 
within  sight  of  Manhattan.  From  the  side  of  Maryland,  as  we 
have  seen,  claims  were  made  which  would  have  obliterated  Xew 
Netlicrland.  The  closing  years  of  Stuyvesant's  rule  were  times 
of  distress  and  distraction  o\er  the  increasingly  difhcidt  task  of 
maintaining  his  grinuid. 

The  fatal  weakness  of  his  situation  lay  in  the  nature  of  the 
colony  itself.  It  had  never  really  taken  root.  It  was  essentially 
a  trading,  not  a  planting,  enterprise  which  the  West  India  Com- 
pany had  undertaken,  and  as  a  com])etent  American  writer  has 
observed,  "the  trading  spirit  is  not  of  itself  sufficient  to  establish 
successftd  settlement,  and  monoi)olies  cannot  be  safely  intrustetl 
with  the  government  of  colonies." 

It  had  been  the  traditional  policy  of  England  to  claim  the 
whole  North  American  coast  covered  by  the  two  blanket  charters 
which  James  the  First  had  granted  to  the  London  and  the  Plym- 
outh companies  in  1606 — stretching  from  Carolina  to  Nova 
Scotia,  including  islands  within  a  hundred  miles  of  the  coast,  and 
reaching  inland  without  limit.  When  in  1632  Charles  the  First 
told  the  Dutch  ambassadors,  as  has  been  related,  that  the  settle- 
ments called  New  Netherland  were  all  on  English  ground,  it  wa> 
but  a  re-statement  of  the  settled  policy,  and  a  warning  of  what 
should  be  expected  at  a  time  convenient  to  England.      .\nd  this 

^3S 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

time,  after  the  passage  of  the  Navigation  Act  by  the  English  Par- 
liament, in  1660,  and  its  amendment  in  1663,  had  now  come. 

For  the  Navigation  Act  was  an  instrument  to  build  up  Eng- 
land's commerce,  and  destroy  that  of  Holland.  It  provided  that 
no  European  goods  should  go  into  an  English  colony  except  they 
came  from  England  in  an  English  ship.  Furthermore,  no  goods 
produced  in  the  colonies  which  the  English  merchants  cared  for — 
and  they  were  strictly  enumerated  in  the  law,  and  the  list  in- 
creased from  time  to  time — could  be  sent  to  any  other  ports  than 
tho'se  under  the  English  crown,  though  goods  not  desired  in  Eng- 
land might  be  sent  from  the  colonies  to  ports  south  of  Cape  Finis- 
terre  on  the  coast  of  Spain,  thus  cutting  out  the  coast  of  France. 

The  establishment  of  this  system  was  the  beginning  of  the 
chapter  which  first  consolidated  England's  power  in  North  Amer- 
ica, and  in  the  end  lost  to  her  all  she  seemed  to  have  gained.  The 
Navigation  Acts,  and  the  consequent  monopoly  of  colonial  trade 
in  the  hands  of  English  merchants,  was  an  intolerable  injustice 
which  in  a  large  degree  caused  the  Revolution  of  1776. 

But  the  American  Revolution  was  in  1663  a  full  century  dis- 
tant. The  pressing  question  in  England  was  the  expansion  of 
trade,  the  abasement  of  Holland,  increase  of  the  Crown  revenues, 
and  consequent  profit  to  those  who  had  the  job  of  collecting 
them.  It  was  perceived  that  the  intended  monopoly  in  trade  in 
America  could  not  be  effective  on  the  long  coast  line  while  the 
great  port  at  Manhattan  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Dutch,  and 
while  they  held  the  traffic  of  the  North  and  South  rivers.  Some 
illicit  trade  there  would  always  be,  but  the  amount  of  it,  with  this 
great  gap  open  in  the  English  line,  must  be  unbearable. 

The  policy  of  England  therefore  concurred  with  the  personal 
inclination  of  the  King  and  his  brother,  when  on  the  12th  of 
March,  1663-4,^  Charles  granted  to  James,  Duke  of  York,  a  pat- 

*We  have  come  now  to  the  English  calen-  they  had  adopted  the  Gregorian  calendar  in 

dar  usage  and  its  "double  dating"  between  1582,  but  England  retained  the  Julian  cal- 

January  i  and  March  24.  The  Dutch  would  endar  until    1752. 
have    made    this   date    March   22,    1664,    for 

136 


Old   I'ciin   MaiisKin.    Letitia  Couri 


liuilt  i68j:  removed  and  re-erected  in  Fairmount 
Park  in  i88-- 


Under  the  Duke  of  York 

ent  for  a  great  body  of  land  in  America,  lying  between  tbe  west 
bank  of  the  Connecticut  river,  and  the  east  side  of  the  Delaware, 
the  inland  line  l)eing  drawn  from  "the  head  of  the  Connecticut 
river  to  the  source  of  Hudson  river,  thence  to  the  head  of  the  Mo- 
hawk branch  of  the  Hudson,  and  thence  to  the  east  side  of  Dela- 
ware bay.""  Hiis  was  Xew  Xetherland,  the  colony  which  the 
Dutch  had  been  ])ronioting  almost  since  the  voyage  of  Hudson, 
but  Charles  assumed  that  it  was  English  territory,  and  that  the 
Dutch  for  half  a  century  had  simply  been  intruders  upon  it. 

Such  a  claim,  if  pressed,  meant  of  course  war  with  the  Dutch 
Republic.  For  that  the  English  King  and  his  brother  were  ready, 
if  not  prepared,  '{"hough  their  sister  had  married  one  of  the 
chief  of  the  Dutchmen,  William,  Prince  of  Orange,  and  the-  son 
of  this  marriage,  William,  now  a  lad  of  fourteen,  was  their 
nephew,  neither  King  nor  Duke  loved  Holland.^ 

The  Duke  of  York  was  the  Lord  High  Admiral  of  England. 
Ships  to  seize  the  Dutch  territory  were  thus  at  his  command,  and 
four  of  these  were  at  once  fitted  out  for  America.  Four  commis- 
sioners went  on  board,  to  take  charge  of  the  new  territory  when  it 
should  l)e  seized — Col.  Richard  Nicolls.  Sir  Robert  Carr,  Col. 
George  Cartwright,  and  Samuel  Maverick.  The  last-named  had 
been  some  time  in  the  Massachusetts  colony,  an  implacable  oppo- 
nent of  the  ruling  people  there ;  the  other  three  were  officers  in  the 
British  army.  Xicolls  was  the  brains  of  the  commission,  an  able 
and  sagacious  man. 

James,  Duke  of  York,  with  whom  we  must  now  concern  our- 
selves more  or  less  for  a  cjuarter  of  a  century  of  this  narrative,  was 
in   1664  thirty-one  years  old.     He  had  married  in   1660  Anne 

'As    tliis    narrative    of    I'ciiiisylvania    will  (the    son's)    birtli,    and    his    mother    (Mary, 

presently    have    to    do    with    this    nephew    of  daughter  of  Charles  I.,  and  sister  of  Charles 

Charles    and     Tames,     William     of     Orange,  II.,    and   James    II.),    going    to    London,    in 

who    became     the    son-inlaw    of    James    in  1660.     at    the     Restoration,    died    there,    of 

1677,  and   King  of   Kngland   in    1688    (Will-  smallpox,     so     that     William     was    left     an 

iam    III.),   a    few    facts   of   interest   may   be  orphan     at     ten     years.     He     succeeded     his 

mentioned    here.     William's    father    died    in  uncle    and    fathcr-inlaw.    as    King    of    Eng- 

1650,    of    small-pox,    eight    days    before    his  land,   in    1688. 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

Hyde,  daughter  of  that  distinguished,  if  not  altogether  honored 
figure  in  English  history,  the  Earl  of  Clarendon.  As  his  brother 
the  King  had  no  legitimate  children — though  many  others — 
James  was  heir  presumptive  to  the  English  throne.  The  grant 
of  the  American  territory  to  him  would  therefore,  if  he  became 
king,  merge  in  the  Crown  possessions,  and  the  settlements  upon 
it  become  a  Crown  colony. 

Sailing  from  Portsmouth  England,  on  the  15th  of  May 
(1664),  the  Duke's  ships  were  at  Boston  late  in  July,  and  on  the 
19th  of  August  had  reached  the  waters  around  Manhattan  Island. 


,^^^^^^i/^tAjy^ 


Signature    of   Thomas   Wynne,    member    of   the    Assemblj',    1683 

The  four  were  the  Guinea,  the  Elias,  the  Martin,  and  the  William 
and  Nicholas,  carrying  altogether  eighty-two  guns.  They  had 
on  board  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  soldiers.  It  was  a  force 
so  overwhelming  that  resistance  by  Stuyvesant  was  manifestly 
impracticable.  He  would,  however,  have  made  a  defense,  if  his 
councillors  had  not  overborne  him.  They  preferred  to  yield  and 
accept  the  assurances  of  Col.  Nicolls,  rather  than  resist  and  be 
worse  used.  On  the  29th  of  August  the  fort  of  New  Amsterdam 
was  surrendered  by  Stuyvesant,  and  the  English  flag  was  raised 
over  it. 

The  South  river  colony  was  promptly  visited,  also.  It  did  not 
lie — that  part  of  it  which  had  importance — within  the  King's 
grant  to  the  Duke,  for  it  was  on  the  west  side  of  the  Delaware, 
but  it  was  part  of  New  Netherland.  Sir  Robert  Carr  was  there- 
fore sent,  September  3.  with  the  Guinea  and  the  William  and 
Nicholas,  and  as  many  soldiers  as  could  be  spared  from  the  Man- 
hattan fort,  to  ''reduce"  it  to  submission.  The  other  three  com- 
missioners gave  him  a  letter  of  authority.  It  began  :  "Whereas, 
we  are  informed  that  the  Dutch  have  seated  themselves  at  Dela- 

140 


Under  the  Duke  of  York 


ware  Bay,  on  his  Majesty  of  Great  Britain's  territories,  without 
his  knowledge  or  consent,  and  that  they  have  fortified  themseh'es 
there,  and  drawn  a  great  deal  of  trade  thither ;  and  being  assured 
that  if  they  be  permitted  to  go  on.  the  gaining  of  this  place  will  be 
of  small  advantage  to  His  Majesty,  we" — etc..  etc. 


Caleb  Pusey  House,  near  Cliester 

Oldest  building  in  Pennsylvania,  having  been 
built  in  1683.  Occupied  by  William  Penn 
during  occasional  visits.  Photo  by  Louise  D. 
Woodbridge. 

Once  more,  then,  a  hostile  fleet  came  inside  the  capes  and  up 
the  bay.  The  voyage  from  New  York — as  henceforth  we  shall 
know  it — had  been  tedious,  and  it  was  not  until  the  last  day  of 
September  that  the  two  warships  reached  New  Amstel,  and  Carr 
summoned  the  place  to  surrender.  He  had,  he  says,  "almost  three 
days'  parley"  with  the  Governor  and  the  burghers ;  the  latter 
agreed  to  yield,  but  the  Governor  and  soldiers  refused.  He  there- 
fore landed  his  men,  and  the  ships  fired  two  broadsides  upon  the 
fort,  after  which  it  was  stormed.  The  assailants  sustained  no 
loss,  but  the  Dutch  had  ten  wounded  and  three  killed.  This  is 
Carr's  account,  and  all  we  have.  If  we  may  trust  it.  D'Hinoyossa 
appears  as  a  more  resolute  defender  of  the  post  he  held  than  his 

141 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

Dutch  predecessor  in  1654,  or  the  Swedish  in  the  foUowing 
year. 

Whether  or  not  the  capture  was  attended  with  l)loodshed, 
Carr's  men,  according  to  his  own  report,  phmdered  right  and  left. 
In  the  fort  and  the  town  soldiers  and  sailors  vied  with  one  another 
in  robhery.  Carr  said  they  made  so  much  "noise  and  confusion" 
about  it  that  his  commands  could  not  be  heard.  The  cows,  oxen, 
horses,  and  sheep  of  the  settlers  were  seized.  More  important 
than  the  quadrupeds  were  a  number  of  negro  slaves,  who  also  fell 
prize  to  the  Englishmen.  There  were  some  sixty  or  seventy  of 
these.  They  had  reached  Manhattan  in  the  Gideon,  a  slave  ship, 
with  over  two  hundred  more,  just  before  the  arrival  of  the  Eng- 
lish fleet,  and  had  barely  escaped  capture  there,  Peter  Alrich 
having  hurried  them  across  the  North  river,  and  thence  overland 
to  New  Amstel.  They  were  now  divided  among  the  captors,  and 
Carr  promptly  traded  some  to  Maryland.  In  his- report,  a  few 
days  after  the  capture,  he  says :  *T  have  already  sent  into  Mary- 
land some  Neegars  which  did  belong  to  ye  late  Governor  at  his 
plantation  above,  for  beefe,  pork,  corne,  and  salt,  and  for  some 
other  small  conveniences  which  this  place  affordeth  not." 

Sir  Robert  Carr  assumed  also  the  right  to  seize  and  distribute 
the  lands  of  the  Dutch  officials — for  which  Col.  Nicolls,  in  a  letter 
from  New  York  to  London,  censured  him,  though  it  does  not 
appear  that  the  disposition  thus  made  was  ultimately  disturbed. 
The  land  of  D'Hinoyossa  Carr  appropriated  for  himself;  to  his 
brother.  Captain  John  Carr,  he  gave  that  of  Van  Sweringen,  the 
Dutch  "schout ;"  Ensign  Stock,  besides  eleven  of  the  negro  slaves, 
got  "Peter  Alrich's  land,"  and  to  the  two  captains  of  the  ships 
which  had  brought  the  expedition,  Hyde  and  Morley,  there  was 
generously  granted  a  "manor,"  located  far  up  the  Delaware,  a 
gift  which  for  a  long  time  to  come  would  not  be  likely  to  much 
enrich  a  white  owner. 

Even  the  little  community  which  Cornelius  Plockhoy  had  be- 
gun so  hopefully  the  year  before,  at    the    Hoorn    kill,  could  not 

142 


Under  the  Duke  of  York 

he  S])are(l  In"  the  plunderers.  A  vessel  was  sent  down  from  Xew 
Amstel  to  seize  it,  and  the  poor  colonists  were  stripped  of  all  they 
had.  "to  a  very  naile,"  thus  ending  the  enterprise.' 

Carr's  report  to  Nicolls,  from  which  a  citation  has  already 
been  made,  was  dated  October  13,  nearly  a  fnrtni.s^ht  after  the 
capture  of  Xew  Amstel.  He  explained  that  it  had  been  delayed 
by  the  disturbed  condition  of  the  Indians  east  of  the  Delaware, 
and  further  added  :  "We  beg  your  endeavour  to  assist  us  in  ye 
reconcihation  of  ye  Indians  called  Synekees  at  ye  Fort  Ferrania 
and  }e  Huskchanoes  [evidently  Susquehannas]  here,  they  com- 
ing and  doing  violence  both  to  heathen  and  Christian,  and  leave 
these  Indians  to  be  blamed  for  it,  insomuch  that  within  less  than 
six  weeks  several  murders  have  been  committed  and  done  by  their 
people  upon  the  Dutch  and  S\vedes  here."  The  war  of  the  Tro- 
Cjuois  tribes  with  the  Susquehannocks  was  still  going  on. 

Colonel  Nicolls  came  soon  after  to  the  Delaware,  to  inspect 
conditions  there.  Sir  Robert  Carr  stayed  on  the  river  until 
February  following,  and  then  left  finally,  but  his  brother.  Cap- 
tain John  Carr,  remained,  and  was  for  several  years  in  command 
at  New  Castle.  The  authority  of  Colonel  Nicolls  was  exercised 
over  the  whole  of  what  had  been  New  Netherland.  His  residence, 
like  that  of  the  Dutch  governors,  was  at  New  York.  Conditions 
on  the  Delaware  underwent  little  change.  The  Dutch  had  sub- 
mitted of  necessitv,  the  Swedes  no  doubt  very  cheerfully:  it  was 
hardly  in  human  nature  for  them  to  mourn  the  discomfiture  of 
those  who  had  in  1655  ^ipset  them  so  rudely.  The  policy  of 
Nicolls  was  conciliatory  and  liberal.  At  Manhattan  the  Dutch, 
even  including  Stuvvesant.  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
English  King,  and  1  )"1  iino}-ossa,  who  had  retired  to  Maryland 
after  the  loss  of  his  fort  and  government,  wrote  from  St.  Mary's 
a  few  weeks  later,  offering  to  do  the  same  if  he  might  have  his 
New  -Amstel  propertv  restored.  This,  howexer.  was  not  done: 
D'llinovossa  remained  in  Maryland  several  years,  having  settled 

'For  the  story  of  Plockhoy  and  his  un- 
fortunate colony,  see  Judge  Pennypacker's 
"Gerin.Tntown"    (iSpp).  ^  4"3 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

on  Foster's  island  in  Chesapeake  Bay,  now  a  part  of  Talbot  coun- 
ty. In  1 67 1  he  petitioned  the  Maryland  Assembly  for  natural- 
ization for  himself,  wife  and  seven  children.  Later,  he  returned 
to  Holland,  and  is  said  to  have  died  there. 

The  governorship  of  Colonel  Nicolls  continued  until  mid- 
summer of  1668.  He  had  found  his  post  a  hard  one.  At  the 
end  of  July,  1665,  he  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  State  at  London 
lamenting  the  low  state  of  his  affairs.  There  had  been,  then^ 
though  nearly  a  year  was  gone,  "no  ship    or   the   least  supplies 


Signature  of  Tamanen,  June  23.   1683 

since  the  surrender."  The  soldiers  and  planters  were  in  want. 
On  the  Delaware  conditions  were  distressing;  "all  the  planters 
on  the  river  goe  naked  if  not  supplyed."  Later  he  wrote  that  he 
had  wholly  exhausted  his  own  means,  in  providing  for  the  general 
service.  Finally,  after  the  conclusion  of  peace  between  Eng- 
land and  Holland  by  the  treaty  of  Breda  (July,  1667),  he  was 
given  permission  to  return  to  England,  and  was  replaced  in  Au- 
gust, 1668,  by  Colonel  Francis  Lovelace.  Colonel  Nicolls  is 
praised  by  all  historical  writers  for  his  honest  and  fair  adminis- 
tration ;  it  may,  therefore,  be  something  to  the  credit  of  the  Duke 
of  York  that  he  should  have  selected  for  his  first  governor  in 
America  so  good  a  man.  When  he  quitted  New  York  Nicolls 
was  escorted  to  the  ship  by  "the  largest  procession  of  military  and 
citizens"  that  had  ever  been  seen  there.  On  his  return  to  Eng- 
land he  was  made  a  knight,  and  resumed  his  position  in  the  Duke 
of  York's  household.  In  1672,  when  again  England  and  Hol- 
land were  at  war,  Nicolls  was  killed  May  29,  in  the  terrific  naval 
battle  with  DeRuyter,  at  Solebay,  falling,  it  is  said,  "at  the  feet" 

144 


Under  the  Duke  of  York 

of  the  Duke  of  York.  In  the  parish  church  at  Ami)thill,  Bed- 
fordshire, the  place  of  his  birth,  is  a  white  marble  monument  to 
him,  enclosing  the  cannon-ball  that  killed  him. 

Reviewing  briefly  those  events  of  Governor  Nicolls's  three 
years  which  afifect  the  Delaware  colonists,  the  total  is  meagre. 
One  of  his  first  acts  had  been  to  establish  a  code  of  laws.  These, 
called  "the  Duke's  Laws,"  were  applied  first  to  the  New  York 
Colony,  but  ultimately  to  that  on  the  Delaware,  also,  and  were  in 
force  there  when  William  Penn  took  possession,  in  1681.     They 


Signature    of    Nicholas    More,    speaker    of    the   Assembly.   1684 

had  been  selected  from  the  codes  of  the  other  English  colonies  by 
the  Governor  and  his  Council,  and  submitted  for  approval  to  a 
convention  of  delegates  from  the  New  York  "towns,"  held  at 
Hempstead,  on  Long  Island,  March  i,  1664-5.  O"  the  whole, 
"the  Duke's  Laws"  were  fairly  adapted  to  the  place  and  people. 
They  provided  for  freedom  of  religion,  trial  by  jury,  and  equal 
taxation,  though  they  recognized  slavery,  and  established  a  gen- 
eral liability  to  military  service.  They  were  enforced  on  the 
Delaware,  when  they  became  operative  there,  by  three  "Courts." 
composed  of  justices  commissioned  by  the  Governor.  These 
courts  sat  at  New  Castle,  at  the  Horekill  (as  it  now  came  to  be 
called,  a  corruption  of  Lloorn  Kill),  and  at  Upland — later  also  at 
St.  Jones,  now  in  Kent  county,  Delaware.  The  Duke's  Laws 
came  slowly  into  use  on  the  Delaware.  In  1668  Governor 
Nicolls  directed  that  the  book  be  "shewed  and  frequently  com- 
municated" to  the  Councillors  at  New  Castle,  so  as  to  be  enforced 
"in  convenient  time."  Gov.  Lovelace  ordered  in  1672  that  "ye 
English  lawes  bee  established  both  in  ye  towne  and  all  plantations 
upon  Delaware  river."  Finally,  in  1676  (Sept.  22),  Gov.  An- 
dros  issued  an  imperative  order  to  put  them  in  force. 

i-io  145 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

After  the  first  Hurry  of  tlie  change  of  rule  there  was  httle  dis- 
crimination by  the  English  against  the  old  settlers.  Peter  Al- 
rich,  who  had  lost  his  property  at  the  surrender,  was  licensed  ])y 
Gov.  Nicolls  in  November,  1665,  to  trade  at  the  Horekill,  "with 
the  Indians  or  any  others,"  and  received  a  permit  at  the  same  time 
to  go  from  New  York  to  the  Delaware,  "with  his  servant  and  six 
horses."  In  February,  1667-8,  Governor  Nicolls  further 
favored  him  by  the  grant  of  two  islands  in  the  Delaware,  below 
the  present  town  of  Bristol — long  since,  l)y  drainage,  united  wdth 
the  fast  land  of  the  Pennsylvania  shore.  In  May,  1668,  Captain 
John  Carr,  commanding  at  the  New  Castle  fort,  was  directed  by 
Governor  Nicolls  to  call  in,  "in  civil  matters,  so  often  as  com- 
plaint is  made,"  the  schout  (sheriff)  and  five  others,  as  a  Coun- 
cil, these  five  being  three  Swedes,  Israel  Helm,  Peter  Rambo,  and 
Peter  Cock,  and  tw'o  Dutchmen,  Hans  Block  and  Peter  Alrich. 
There  were,  in  fact,  so  few  Englishmen  on  the  river  that  it  was 
necessary  to  employ,  even  in  places  of  trust,  the  Dutch  and 
Swedes.  A  letter  in  March,  1670-71,  to  Governor  Lovelace,  al- 
ludes to  the  difficulties  of  "us  few  English,  and  none  of  us  able 
to  speake  to  the  Indians." 

Nothing  of  internal  trouble  had  occurred  in  the  colony  until 
1669,  wdien  in  the  summer  one  of  the  Finnish  Swedes,  probably 
living  about  Marcus  Hook,  where  several  Finns  had  located, 
stirred  up  a  revolt,  or  attempted  to  do  so.  He  gave  himself  out 
to  be  a  son  of  Konigsmark,  the  Swedish  general,  who  twenty 
years  earlier  had  been  renowned  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War  in 
Germany,  but  he  w'as  commonly  known  as  "the  Long  Finn." 
Exactly  what  he  designed  or  hoped  to  do  is  not  very  clear ;  the 
charge  in  substance  was  that  of  stirring  up  sedition.  Gov.  Love- 
lace wrote  that  he  was  informed  that  he  "goes  up  and  dow-n  from 
one  place  to  another,  frequently  raising  speeches  very  seditious 
and  false,  tending  to  ye  disturbance  of  his  Majesty's  peace  and  ye 
lawes  of  ye  Government."  Another  settler  named  Henry  Cole- 
man, "one  of  ye  Finns,"  was  charged  w  ith  complicity,  and  it  w^as 

146 


Under  the  Duke  of  York 

said  that  he  had  abandoned  ''his  habitation,  Cattle  and  Corne, 
without  any  care  taken  of  them,  to  run  after  ye  other  person." 
Coleman  was  "well  verst  in  ye  Indian  language,"  and  he  and  the 
Long  Finn  were  reported  to  be  much  among  the  Indians — this 
fact  doubtless  increasing  the  apprehensions  of  the  settlers. 

The  fraudulent  Konigsmark  was  soon  arrested  and  impris- 
oned at  New  Castle.  He  attempted  to  escape,  but  was  recap- 
tured. Gov.  Lovelace  wrote  to  keep  him  "in  hold  and  in  irons" 
until  he  could  be  tried.  There  was  some  delay ;  the  Governor 
proposed  to  come  and  hold  the  court,  but  was  detained  at  New 
York.  He  wrote  to  Captain  Carr  and  the  Council  to  deal 
sharply  with  all  involved  in  the  threatened  disturbance ;  "those 
of  ye  first  magnitude"  might  be  imprisoned  or  held  to  bail,  and 
"for  ye  rest  of  ye  poor  deluded  sort."  he  said,  "I  think  the  advice 
of  their  owne  Countrymen  is  not  to  be  despised,  who  knowing 
their  temper  well  prescribe  a  method  for  keeping  them  in  order, 
which  is  severity  and  laying  such  taxes  on  them  as  may  not  give 
them  liberty  to  Entertaine  any  other  thoughts  but  how  to  dis- 
charge them." 

Gov.  Lovelace  censured  Madam  Papegoia  for  an  alleged  sym- 
pathy with  the  movement ;  it  was.  he  thought,  ungrateful  after 
the  favors  that  had  been  shown  her ;  he  perceived,  also,  he  said, 
that  "ye  little  dominie" — Carolus  Lock,  the  Swedish  minister — 
had  "played  ye  Trumpeter  to  the  discord."  There  is  no  account 
of  any  proceedings  against  Madam  Papegoia.  but  the  minister 
was  subsequently  fined  600  guilders. 

As  to  the  Long  Finn,  he  was  finally  tried  by  a  jury  at  New 
Castle  before  commissioners  named  by  the  Governor,  and — of 
course — found  guilty.  He  was  sentenced  to  death,  but  the  Gov- 
ernor and  Council  at  Xew  York  m<xlified  the  sentence,  ordering 
that  he  "be  publich-  and  scxerelv  whipt.  and  stigmatized  or 
branded  in  the  fface  with  the  letter  R" — for  rebellion — and  then 
sold  "to  the  Barbadoes  or  some  other  of  those  remoter  planta- 
tions."      All  of  which  was  strictly  carried    out:    the  Finn  was 

'+7 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

taken  to  New  York  in  December,  1669,  and  confined  there  in  the 
state-house  until  January  26,  1669-70,  when  he  was  placed  on 
board  a  vessel,  the  Fort  Albany,  and  sent  to  Barbados  to  be 
sold. 

As  for  those  charged  with  complicity,  fines  more  or  less 
heavy,  ranging  from  fifty  guilders  to  two  thousand,  were  im- 
posed upon  them.  Coleman  was  fined  930  guilders,  and  appears 
later  to  have  been  in  good  standing  in  the  colony. 

The  service  of  Lovelace  extended  to  August,  1672 — ending 
then  with  the  advent  of  hostile  Dutch  ships.  In  his  five  years 
the  Delaware  colony  slowly  extended  up  the  river.  Some  grants 
of  land  were  made  north  of  the  Pennsylvania  line — one  of  these 
to  Richard  Gorsuch  in  1670-71  for  a  large  tract  on  Pennypack 
and  Poquessing  creeks,  which  in  1672  came  into  the  possession 
of  Lovelace  himself.  The  east  bank  of  the  river,  from  "the 
Falls"  down,  became  well  known  at  every  point,  for  messengers 
and  others  passing  overland  between  New  York  and  New  Castle 
often,  perhaps  usually,  took  this  route.  Gov.  Lovelace  passed 
by  this  path,  in  some  state,  with  a  party  of  soldiers,  in  March, 
1 67 1 -2,  and  in  the  autumn  of  that  year  also,  a  more  famous  man, 
George  Fox,  the  Friend  or  Quaker  preacher. 

In  Fox's  journal  we  get  some  descriptions  that  are  of  interest. 
He  and  his  companions  had  ridden  through  the  New  Jersey 
woods  from  Shrewsbury.       The  journal  says: 

"We  went  to  Middletown  Harbour  ...  in  order  to  take 
our  long  journey  .  .  .  through  the  woods  toward  Maryland ; 
having  hired  Indians  for  our  guides.  I  determined  to  pass 
through  the  woods  on  the  other  side  of  Delaware  Bay,  that  we 
might  head  the  creeks  and  rivers  as  much  as  possible.  On  the 
9th  of  the  7th  month  [November]  we  set  forward,  and  passed 
through  many  Indian  towns,  and  over  some  rivers  and  bogs ;  and 
when  we  had  rode  about  forty  miles,  we  made  a  fire  at  night,  and 
lay  by  it.  .  .  Next  day  we  travelled  fifty  miles,  as  we  com- 
puted ;  and  at  night,  finding  an  old  house  which  the  Indians  had 

148 


MISSIVE' 

VAN 

William     Penn, 

-  Eygcnaai*  en  Gouvcrncur  van 

PENNSYLVANIA, 

In     AMERICA. 

Gefchrevcn  aan  dc  CommifTariflen  van  dc  Vrye  Socie- 

teyt  der  Handclaars  ,  op  de  fclve  Pro\indc , 

binncn  London  refideercnde. 

BEHELSENDE: 

Ctnflcntralcbcfcf)2t)bingc  ban  be boonwcmbc  pjobinnc;  tc  toftcn/bail 
fearc  vO^onb/Jluf  tjt/lBarcr/^aifocnni  fn'i  pjobuct/foo  unt  be  tutuur  afjf 
booj  l&etboutocn/  ne(fmjibc  grootc  bcrmccrbcrmflc  of  mecntjjljbulbitu 
ge/  tDriltc  bctSatrti  albaat  uptgcbcnbcio. 

5CIsi  mrbe:  ban  be  jDaturcflcn  of  3:nbooi(in8cnbcj{IIanbtj]{/6acTCaar' 
<0eb3oontena  en  jPHameren  /  l^oat  ^ptjfcn/  I^ujifen  of  It'^igtoamjiS/ 
.fDtlbljept  /  gcmacfteJiJcfte  manier  ban  Icbcn  /  jBcbJctjnen  /  manieren  ban 
55epraa(femjf/  <©ob?"bifntt/  <©(fer6anbenen*Ccfangen/ tjaarl^oogci 
ffcffen/  iScgcermgc/  en  ojbJC  in  Bare  flabcn/  toatmecr  fp met  nemanbt 
fianbelenobcrijct  bcrltoopcnban  Uanbcrpen/  |c,  JUttttn^  (jarc  3.uf^^ 
tie/  of  {i((tit  born  obcr  quaatbocnberp".' 

^itlSgaberjJecn-r^cricbt  ban  brrerlfcColomerd  be  t^^oiranberjS  /  (fc.  <Sn 
ban  be  tcgcntoooibige  tocilant  m  toclgetlcUtjcnt  ban>c  bcomocmbe  Ji>ja» 
bintiecniRccbtbanKcn/  (|c.  albaac. 

^^''aar  by  noch  gcvocght  isccnBcfchrijvingvandcHooft-Sadc 

PHILADELPHIA. 

Nu  onlangs  uytgcfct ,  en  gclcgcn  tuffchen  twee  Navigable  RivicrcttV 
namcntlijk:  tulTchen  DeU^varecnSchujtkil. 

tfnbcccnberftaarban  bcboojfpocbtgc  enboojbcefigcftanbtbanfaftenbait 
tcboojnoanbc^octetein  binncn  be  boojnocmbe<$tabten  p^obmne/ilc. 

AMSTERDAM, 
Cedrukt  voor  Jacob  Ciaus,  Do€kverkoopcr  in  dc  Princc-flrsat ,  x  684. 

Title  page  of  Dutch  Book  to  influence  immigration  to  Pennsylvania 


Under  the  Duke  uf  York 

forced  the  i)eii])lc  to  leave,  we  made  a  tire  and  stayed  there,  at  the 
head  of  Delaware  Bay." 

The  place  thus  reached  was  Jegou's  (afterward  called  Chy- 
goe's)  Island,  a  part  practically  of  the  Xew  Jersey  shore.  Here 
Peter  Jegou,  a  Frenchman,  had  acquired  a  right,  and  had  built 
a  log  house  as  a  "house  of  entertainment  for  ye  accommodation 
of  Travelers."  It  is  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Burlington. 
Governor  Lovelace,  arranging  for  his  trip  of  the  previous  March, 
had  given  instruction  to  Captain  Garland :  "Go  as  speedily  as 
you  can  to  Xavesink.  thence  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Jegoe,  right 
against  Mattiniconck  island,  on  Delaware  river,  where  there  are 
some  persons  ready  to  receive  you."  Previous  to  George  Fox's 
journey  it  seems  that  the  Indians  had  driven  Jegou  away.  The 
journal  proceeds : 

"Next  day  we  swam  our  horses  over  a  river,  about  a  mile, 
at  twice,  first  to  an  island  called  Upper  Dinidock,  and  then  to 
the  mainland;  having  hired  Indians  to  help  us  over  in  their 
canoes." 

"Upper  Dinidock"  is,  of  course,  Mattiniconck,  mentioned  by 
Lovelace.  It  is  the  large  island  opposite  Burlington,  usually 
called  Burlington  island.  This  had  apparently  been  in  posses- 
sion of  Governor  D'Hinoyossa,  at  the  Dutch  surrender  in  1664, 
and  had  been  seized  by  Sir  Robert  Carr.  Later,  1668.  Governor 
Lovelace  seems  to  have  given  it  in  occupancy,  if  not  ownership, 
to  Peter  Alrich.  It  was  an  important  place,  at  the  crossing  of 
the  river,  and  as  a  post  for  the  Indian  trade  up  the  Delaware. 
Here,  in  September.  167 1,  two  white  men,  servants  of  Alrich, 
were  killed  by  Indians.  The  guilty  parties  were  known,  and  one 
of  them,  Tashiowycan,  explained  that  his  sister  had  died,  caus- 
ing him  great  sorrow.  The  act,  he  believed,  was  caused  by  a 
"manitou,"  and  in  redress  he  had  set  out  to  kill  the  Christians. 

Alrich  reported  the  deed  to  Governor  Lovelace  and  the  Coun- 
cil, at  Xew  \'ork.  The  Indians,  he  said,  disowned  mid  con- 
demned the  act.  and  ])roposed  to  punish  the  murderers.       They 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

had  suggested  a  plan  for  this :  that  the  two  be  gotten  to  a  "kinte- 
coy" — cantico :  frohc — and  that  '*in  the  midst  of  the  mirth" 
one  hired  for  the  purpose  should  "knock  them  i'  the  head." 

A  general  attack  upon  the  band,  and  perhaps  on  all  the  neigh- 
boring Indians,  was  proposed,  but  fortunately  not  undertaken. 
Peter  Alrich  gave  his  counsel.  The  "propper  time,"  he  told  the 
Governor,  to  attack  the  Indians,  "is  within  a  month  from  this 
time" — the  end  of  September — "for  after  that  they'll  break  ofif 
their  keeping  together  in  a  towne  and  goe  a  hunting,  [and]  soe 
bee  separated." 

Lovelace  wrote  an  urgent  letter  to  William  Tomm  on  the 
subject,  expressing  the  view  that  "ye  vengeance  of  God  will 
never  forsake  us  till  we  avenge  ye  Blood  of  ye  Innocent  on  ye 
contrivers'  heads."  He  directed  the  magistrates  to  "sell  no 
powder,  shott,  or  Strong  waters  to  the  Indians,  on  paine  of 
death,"  but  keep  a  fair  face  toward  them,  as  if  no  ill  feeling  exist- 
ed, waiting  a  convenient  time  for  the  punitive  expedition.  The 
magistrates,  however,  in  a  meeting  at  Peter  Cock's,  earnestly 
advised  a  moderate  policy.  "Wee  thinke,"  they  wrote,  "that  at 
this  time  of  the  yeare  itt  is  too  late  to  begin  a  warr  against  the 
Indyans,  the  hay  for  our  beasts  not  being  brought  to  any  place  of 
safety,  and  so  for  want  of  hay  wee  must  see  them  starve  before 
our  faces :  the  next  yeare  wee  can  cutt  itt  more  convenient.  Wee 
intend  to  make  Towns  at  Passyunk,  Tinnaconck,  Upland,  and 
Verdrieties  Hoocke,  whereto  the  out-plantations  must  retire. 
Your  honor's  advice  for  a  frontier  about  Matinnicunck  island  is 
very  good,  and  likewise  another  at  Wicaquake,  for  the  defense 
whereof  your  honor  must  send  men.  .  .  If  possible  there 
[should]  be  hired  fifty  or  sixty  north  Indyans,  who  will  doe  more 
than  200  white  men  in  such  a  warr." 

With  these  views  the  Council  at  New  York  concurred.  The 
season — November — being  "not  a  good  time"  for  war,  they  de- 
cided not  to  begin  one.  The  settlers  were  urged  to  organize, 
and  each  to  provide  himself  with  a  pound  of  powder    and    two 

152 


James    II 

Duke  of  York;    King  of  England   1685-1689 


Under  the  Duke  of  York 

pounds  of  bullets.  The  island.  Mattinio  >nck,  was  ordered  to  be 
fortified — which  almost  certainly  was  not  done. 

The  Indians  themselves  disposed  of  the  case.  A  meeting 
with  the  chiefs  was  held  at  Peter  Rambo's,  and  they  undertook 
to  bring  in,  "dead  or  alive,"  the  two  criminals.  "Accordingly," 
says  Samuel  Smith,  "two  Indians  sent  by  the  sachems  to  take 
them,  coming  to  Tashiowycan's  wigwam  in  the  night;  one  of 
them  his  particular  friend;  him  he  asked  if  he  intended  to  kill 
him;  he  answered  'no,  but  the  sachems  have  ordered  you  to  die.' 
He  demanded  w  hat  his  brothers — the  other  Indians  of  the  band 
— said;  being  told  they  also  said  he  must  die,  he  then,  holding 
his  hands  before  his  eyes,  said  'kill  me !'  Upon  this,  the  other 
Indian,  not  his  intimate,  shot  him  in  the  breast.  They  took  his 
body  to  Wickaco  [Philadelphia],  and  afterwards  hung  it  in 
chains  at  New  Castle.  The  English  gave  the  sachems  for  this 
five  matchcoats.  The  other  murderer,  hearing  the  shot,  ran 
naked  into  the  woods,  and  what  came  of  him  after  appears  not." 

The  journal  of  George  Fox  gives  no  sign  of  these  or  any  In- 
dian troubles.  After  his  crossing  the  river  at  Matinniconck, 
quoted  above,  he  proceeds  : 

"This  day  [November  ii,  1672]  we  could  reach  but  about 
thirty  miles,  and  came  at  night  to  a  Sw^ede's  house,  where  we  got 
a  little  straw,  and  stayed  that  night.  Next  day,  having  hired 
another  guide,  we  traveled  about  forty  miles  through  the  woods, 
and  made  a  fire  at  night,  by  which  we  lay  and  dried  ourselves. 
.  .  The  next  day  we  passed  over  a  desperate  river,  which  had 
in  it  many  rocks  and  broad  stones,  very  hazardous  to  us  and  our 
horses.  Then  we  came  to  Christiana  river,  wdiere  we  swam  our 
horses,  and  went  over  ourselves  in  canoes.  .  .  Thence  we 
went  to  Newcastle,  .  .  and  being  very  weary  rmd  inf|uiring 
in  the  town  where  we  could  buy  some  corn  for  our  horses,  the 
governor  came  and  invited  me  to  his  house,  and  afterwards  de- 
sired me  to  lodge  there,  saying  he  had  a  bed  fr)r  me  and  I  should 
be  welcome." 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

Trade  on  the  Delaware,  in  Lovelace's  time,  continued  much 
as  before.  In  June,  1671,  Captain  Carr  requested  the  Governor 
and  his  Council  to  order  that  no  ship  be  allowed  to  trade  above 
New  Castle,  as  it  would  ruin  the  town's  trade,  "those  that  goe 
up  receiving  ready  payment  in  peltry  or  corn  for  their  liquors, 
which  they  sell  by  retaile  with  ye  small  measure,  or  for  their  petty 
wares."  This  request  was  granted,  but  a  year  and  a  half  later  the 
restriction  was  removed,  complaints  having  been  made  that  some 
vessels  had  been  allowed  to  go  up,  while  others  were  refused,  and 


Signature    of   William    Markham,    deputy-governor,   1681-1682 

the  example  of  the  Hudson,  open  to  Albany,  being  cited.  At  the 
same  time,  June,  1671,  it  was  asked  that  "ye  distilling  of  Strong 
Liquor  out  of  Corne,  being  ye  cause  of  a  great  consumption  of 
that  Graine,  as  also  of  ye  debauchery  and  idleness  of  ye  Inhabit- 
ants, from  whence  inevitably  must  follow  their  Poverty  and 
Ruine,  bee  absolutely  prohibited  or  restrayned" — to  which  the 
answer  was  made  that  a  license  should  be  required  to  distill,  and  a 
tax  be  laid  of  one  guilder  per  can,  the  proceeds  to  go  to  the  build- 
ing of  "ye  new  block  house,  or  fort,  or  some  other  publique 
building." 

At  intervals  the  Maryland  Government  made  demonstrations 
to  maintain  their  claims  within  the  Delaware  colony.  The  Hore- 
kill  settlement  especially  drew  forth  these  pressing  attentions.  In 
April,  1672,  a  surveyor  came  over  and  ostentatiously  surveyed 
some  lands  there,  threatening  the  people  that  if  they  did  not  ac- 
knowledge the  authority  of  Lord  Baltimore  they  would  be  "sent 
for  into  Maryland,  there  to  be  punished."  In  the  summer  of 
1672  a  more  warlike  demonstration  was  made.  "One  Jones." 
a  Maryland  man,  rode  into  the  Horekill  town  at  the  head  of  thirty 
men,  and  finding  no  opposition,  "bound  ye  magistrates,  and  in- 

.56 


George  Fox 


Founder  of  the   Society  of   Friends;  born   16J4; 
died   1691 


Under  the  Duke  of  York 

habitants,  clespitefully  treated  them,  rifled  and  pkindered  them 
of  their  goods."  and  when  it  was  demanded  "by  what  authority" 
were  tliese  proceedings,  answered  with  "a  cock't  pistol"  to  the 
breast  of  the  imprudent  questioner.  Jones,  Captain  Cantwell 
wrote  to  Lovelace,  seized  "all  Indian  goods  or  skins"  he  could 
hud,  and  an  order  was  given  "to  drive  a  20-penny  nail  in  ye 
touch-hole  of  ye  greate  gun,  &  sees  all  ye  guns  and  mill-stones." 

Lovelace,  of  course,  protested  warmly  to  Governor  Philip 
Calvert  at  such  an  outrage,  and  sent  Captain  Edmund  Cantwell 
to  St.  jSIary's  with  the  letter.  To  the  Duke  of  York  he  reported 
as  well. 

In  the  letter  to  Calvert,  Lovelace  added  a  reproach  that  deeds 
so  unneighborly  should  be  done  "in  these  portending,  boysterous 
times."  He  meant  by  these  words  the  war  that  had  begun  in 
Europe.  Then,  and  for  many  a  long  year,  as  we  shall  see.  the 
people  who  were  striving  to  build  homes  in  the  New  World  hung 
dependent  on  the  politics  of  the  Old.  A  quarrel  there  involved 
them  here;  whether  it  was  to  be  peace  or  war  for  them  they 
learned  by  ships  which  came  slowdy  from  Europe.  In  1670  Charles 
II.  abruptly  changed  the  policy  of  England.  He  had  helped  to 
make,  a  little  while  before  (1668),  the  Protestant  Triple  .-Mli- 
ance  of  England,  Holland,  and  Sweden,  to  resist  Louis  XTV.  of 
France,  the  Catholic  king;  but  by  the  secret  treaty  of  Dover 
(1670),  he  joined  Louis  to  crush  Holland,  and  check,  if  not  root 
up,  the  Protestant  growth. 

The  consequent  war  with  Holland  began  in  March.  1672.  In 
August  of  that  year  Governor  Lovelace  wrote  to  Captain  Cant- 
well to  proclaim  the  King's  declaration  of  war  there  and  at 
Horekill.  It  was  a  terrifying  time  at  the  Capes,  for  the  Mary- 
land horsemen  under  Jones  had  just  made  their  raid,  and  a  "pri- 
vateer," or  more  than  one,  probal)ly  flying  the  Dutch  flag,  had 
visited  and  plundered  the  place  a  few  months  l)efore 

The  blow  from  luu'ope  fell  suddenl\-  at  New  York,  and 
Lovelace  was  taken  by  surprise.       He  was  in  Connecticut,  on  a 

159 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

visit  to  Governor  Winthrop,  wlien,  in  August,  1673,  ^^  Dutch 
fleet  appeared  before  the  city.  It  was  of  overwhelming  strength 
— twenty-three  ships,  counting  i)rizes,  and  sixteen  hundred  men. 
Effective  resistance,  as  in  1664,  was  impossible.  The  fort 
capitulated,  New  York  became  a  Dutch  city,  and  Lovelace  re- 
turned to  find  himself  deposed  from  office  and  ruined  in  estate. 
The  two  commanders  of  the  Dutch  ships,  Cornelius  Everts,  "the 
Younger,"  and  Jacob  Binckes,  settled  affairs  anew,  appointed 
Captain  Anthony  Colve  Governor,  and  sprinkled  a  fresh  set  of 
Dutch  names  liberally  on  town  and  country. 


M/^ 


s-^^ 


Signature    of    Arthur    Cooke,    speaker    of    the   Assembly,   1689 

The  Delaware  colony  made  no  resistance;  the  English  were 
too  few,  the  Dutch  too  pleased,  the  Swedes  too  indifferent.  The 
magistrates  repaired  early  in  September  to  New  Orange — recently 
New  York — and  in  Fort  William  Hendrick — recently  Fort 
James — "made  their  submission."  Peter  Alrich  was  appointed 
schout  and  commander  on  South  river,  and  by  a  series  of  orders 
everybody  and  everything  was  confirmed  as  it  had  been,  the  Up- 
land Court  being  continued,  with  jurisdiction  from  Christina 
"upwards  unto  the  head  of  the  river." 

This  episode  of  the  restoration  of  Dutch  rule  lasted  a  little 
more  than  a  year.  By  the  treaty  of  Westminster,  February  9, 
1673-4,  Holland  restored  New  Netherland  to  England,  and  early 
in  July  (1674),  proclamation  of  the  treaty  was  made  at  the  City 
Hall  in  New  York.  The  news  came  over  to  the  Delaware  soon, 
and  once  more  the  colonists  made  the  change  of  allegiance.  Many 
of  them  had  been  once  under  the  crown  of  Sweden,  twice  under 
the  Netherland  High  Mightinesses — not  to  speak  of  the  burgo- 
masters of    Amsterdam — and    now    twice    under    his  Majesty, 

160 


Under  the  Duke  of  York 

Charles  the  Second.  They  accepted  this  change  as  they  had  the 
others. 

The  crown  lawyers  of  England  held  that  by  the  conquests  of 
war  the  Duke  of  York  had  lost  his  title,  and  that  the  treaty  of 
Westminster  conveyed  New  Netherland  not  to  him,  but  to  the 
King.  Charles  therefore  gave  him,  June  29,  1674,  a  new  patent 
with  enlarged  authority.  A  little  later  the  Duke  appointed  a 
new  governor,  a  man  famous  for  years  afterward,  in  the  colonial 
history  of  America,  Major  Edmund  Andros. 

Major  Andros  appeared  at  New  York  at  the  end  of  October, 
1674.  Colve  surrendered  authority  to  him,  and  by  proclamation 
absolved  all  from  their  allegiance  to  the  Dutch  Government.  On 
the  31st  Governor  Andros  reinstated  in  office  those  wdio  had  been 
magistrates  on  the  Delaware  at  the  time  of  the  Dutch  capture  the 
previous  year,  Peter  Alrich  excepted,  "he  having  proffered  him- 
self to  the  Dutch  at  their  first  coming,  and  acted  very  violently 
as  their  chief  officer  ever  since."  In  May  of  the  next  year 
(1675),  the  Governor,  accompanied  by  a  "numerous  retinue.'" 
came  from  New  York  to  visit  the  Delaw'are  settlements.  At  New 
Castle,  on  the  13th,  he  held  an  Indian  Council,  four  chiefs  from 
the  east  side  of  the  river  attending.  They  presented  him  with 
two  belts,  "fifteen  and  twelve  wampum  big,"  in  return  for  which 
he  gave  them  "four  coates  and  four  lap-cloathes."  The  grati- 
tude of  the  chiefs  was  duly  expressed ;  the  record  says :  "They  re- 
turned thanks  and  fell  a-kintecoying,  singing  kenon!  kenon!"  At 
the  same  time  a  court  was  held  and  cases  tried ;  a  church  was 
ordered  to  be  built,  by  general  taxation,  at  Wicaco,  and  that  on 
Tinicum  Island  designated  "to  serve  for  Upland  and  parts  ad- 
jacent." The  penalty  for  selling  strong  liquors  to  the  Indians 
"by  retayle.  or  less  than  two  gallons,"  was  fixed  at  five  pounds, 
and  distillation  of  corn  or  grain  was  forbidden,  under  the  like 
penalty.  "A  ferry  boate"  was  ordered  "to  be  mantayned  at  the 
Falls,  on  the  west  side,"  a  horse  and  man  to  pay  two  guilders  for 
ferriage,  and  a  man  without  a  horse  ten  stivers. 

I— II  161 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

The  administration  of  Governor  Andros  continued  nearly 
seven  years.  He  returned  to  England — to  justify  himself  to  the 
King,  as  to  various  matters,  especially  a  controversy  with  Gov. 
Philip  Carteret  of  East  New  Jersey — in  1681,  leaving  Captain 
Anthony  Brockholls  acting  governor.  His  administration  fol- 
lowed in  the  main  the  lines  of  Nicolls  and  Lovelace.  It  was  a 
personal  government,  strictly;  the  Governor  was  the  source  and 
origin  of  all  authority,  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial.  Noth- 
ing approaching  popular  government,  in  the  modern  sense,  was 
yet  in  view  in  the  Delaware  colony.  Yet  it  is  true  that  in  a  sim- 
ple, primitive  way,  the  people  kept  their  own  peace,  administered 
their  own  justice,  and  directed  the  ordinary  course  of  daily  afifairs. 

This  was  done  l)y  the  magistrates  of  the  "Courts."  Tak- 
ing, now,  for  particular  attention,  the  Court  which  usually  sat  at 
Upland  (Chester) — the  only  one  in  Pennsylvania,  at  this  period 
— we  have  its  records  complete  from  November  14,  1676.  to  the 
transfer  of  the  province  to  William  Penn  in  June,  1681.  These 
disclose  many  particulars  of  the  settlers'  lives.  The  business 
transacted  by  the  Court  had  a  wide  range.  It  heard  and  decided 
charges  of  misdemeanor,  and  had  suits  for  debt,  approved  the  in- 
dentures of  apprentices  and  "servants,"  conferred  with  the  In- 
dians, laid  taxes  and  imposed  fines,  and  directed  the  uses  to  which 
the  revenues  should  be  applied.  It  granted  lands,  under  the  regula- 
tions fixed  by  the  Governor,  and  heard  and  adjusted  disputes  as 
to  titles  and  lines,  made  provision  for  roads,  and  for  insane  per- 
sons— gave  oversight,  in  fact,  to  all  afifairs  of  the  settlers. 

The  Upland  Court  justices  were  for  several  years  all  Swedes. 
As  a])pointed  by  Governor  x\ndros  in  1676,  and  then  freshly 
commissioned,  they  were  Peter  Cock,  Peter  Rambo,  Israel  Helm. 
Lace  Andries,  Oele  Swen,  and  Otto  Ernest  Cock.  These  were 
old  settlers.  Isaac  Helm  was  the  chief  interpreter  to  the  In- 
dians. Peter  Cock  and  Peter  Rambo  were  two  of  the  four 
magistrates  who  met  Governor  Stuyvesant  at  Tinicum,  in  1658, 
"with  a  petition  for  various  privileges."  Rambo  and  Helm  were 

162 


Under  the  Duke  of  York 

both  living  as  late  as  1693.  Oele  Swen  was  one  of  the  patentees 
of  the  land  at  Wicaco,  in  1664,  and  the  family's  houses  and  woods 
there  formed  part  of  Philadelphia  as  laid  out  for  Penn  in  1681. 

Accounts  in  money  were  stated  in  the  Dutch  silver  coins, 
guilders  and  stivers.^  For  keeping  the  Court  in  his  house  at 
Upland,  and  the  "dyet"  of  the  justices,  a  year,  Xeelcs  Laersen 
was  allowed  452  guilders,  or  $37.66.  But  many  accounts  were 
stated  in  terms  of  traffic  and  barter.  Edmund  Cantwell  sued  John 
Ashman  for  800  j)()unds  of  tobacco  for  surveying  two  tracts  of 
land,  and  some  fees.  Lace  Cock  also  sued  Ashman — who  appears 
to  have  become  insolvent  and  eloped — for  "sixteen  ells  of  serge." 
payment  for  a  black  horse  "as  also  a  mare."  John  Stille  claimed 
of  Ashman  twelve  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  tobacco,  "to  be 
paid  in  Choptank  river,  in  Maryland."  admitting  an  offset  of 
"foure  yards  of  course  kersey.''  The  "widow*  of  Thom  :  Jeacocx" 
further  sued  the  much-indebted  Ashman  for  one  thousand  pounds 
of  tobacco,  the  price  of  a  horse  sold  him.  "to  be  paid  in  goods  as 
they  cost  in  Maryland."  deducting  "8  Ells  of  Lockrum.  and  4  Ells 
of  blew  linnen."  James  Sanderlins  sued  John  Edmunds  "of 
Maryland."  on  a  "bill"  for  "1200  lb.  of  good  and  merchantable 
Tobacco  and  Caskes  too  be  paid  in  Great  Choptank  river  in  Mary- 
land." He  asked  an  attachment  on  a  "certaine  great  Boate  or 
shiallup."  which  was  granted,  and  the  "vendu  master"  ordered  to 
sell  the  boat  and  its  appurtenances  "this  Courtday  to  the  most 
bidders,"  which  being  done.  John  Test  bought  it  for  625  guilders, 
"to  be  paid  in  New  Castle  in  merchantable  tobacco  in  casks,  or  tar 
at  eight  stivers  a  pound,  or  wheat  at  five  guilders  a  schepel." 

'A  guilder  is  cuminonly  supposed  to  have  stivers.  Ihis  is  confirmed  by  another  award 
been  equal  to  forty  cents,  and  a  stiver  two  the  same  day  of  3,500  stivers  as  equal  to  4 
cents,  American  money.  But  it  is  evident  pounds,  7  shillings,  6  pence  (1.050  pence), 
that  in  1676-81  the  value  placed  on  these  and  by  the  statement  of  the  Court,  June, 
coins  was  much  less.  The  Upland  Court.  1680,  "5  pounds,  or  200  guilders."  A  guild 
March,  1679-80,  in  a  judgment  on  a  suit  for  er  was  therefore  6  pence,  or  20  stivers,  and 
debt,  awarded  2.700  stivers  as  equal  to  3  counting  a  penny  as  two  cents,  a  guilder 
pounds,  7  shillings,  6  pence  (being  810  was  12  cents  of  our  money,  and  a  stiver  six- 
pence), so  that  a  penny  was  equal  to  3    1-3  tenths  of  a  cent^-6   mills. 

163 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and  Federal 

Education  appears  in  at  least  one  suit.  Edmund  Draufton 
demanded  of  Dunck  Williams,  who  lived  probably  at  Passyunk, 
200   sfuilders   for  teaching'  defendant's   children   "to   Read   one 


William  Penn's  Chair 
Yeare."  In  this  case  Richard  Ducket  testified  "hee  was  present 
at  ye  makeing  of  ye  bargaine,"  and  that  it  was  agreed  that  Drauf- 
ton "should  Teach  Dunkes  Childeren  to  Read  in  ye  bybell,  and  if 
hee  could  doe  itt  in  a  yeare,  or  a  halfe  yeare,  or  a  quarter,"  he  was 
to  receive  the  two  hundred  guilders.       The  Court  held  his  claim 

164 


Under  the  Duke  of  York. 

good.     Edmund  Draufton.  we  ma}-  note  as  we  pass,  was  the  first 
tutor  or  teacher  in  Pennsyhania,  of  whom  we  have  account. 

The  selhng  of  "servants"  for  a  term  of  years  is  recorded  in 
several  cases.  "Anthony  Nealson  Long  brought  into  Court  a  cer- 
tayne  man  servant  named  W'ilham  Goaf,  w^hoeme  hee  has  bought 
of  Moens  Petersen  for  the  full  term  of  three  years  servitude,  the 
sd  William  Goaf  being  present  in  Court  did  owne  the  same,  and 
did  faithfully  promise  to  serve  his  said  master  honestly,  and  truely 
ye  abovesd  Terme  of  3  years."    Again  :    "Mr.  John  Test  brought 


7 


Signature    ui   John    Blackvveil,   d^puty-goxxmor,    10^8-1690 

in  Court  a  certaine  man  servant  named  William  Still,  being  a  tay- 
lor  by  traede,  whome  hee  did  acknowledge  to  have  sold  unto  Capt. 
Edmund  Cantwell  for  the  space  and  terme  of  foure  yeares.'" 
Benjamin  Goodman  petitioned  the  Court  to  be  discharged  from 
service.  He  had  been  sold  "by  Mr.  Charles  Ballard,  of  ye  prov- 
ince of  Maryland  unto  Oele  Swenson  of  this  river,"  for  three 
years,  which  term  had  expired,  but  Swenson  denied  him  his  free- 
dom. The  Court  granted  the  petition.  Attorney  for  Daniel 
Juniper  "of  Accomacq,"  Virginia,  appeared  in  Court  and  declared 
he  had  sold  to  Israel  Helm  "a  certayne  man  servant"  named  Will- 
iam Bromfield,  "for  ye  terme  and  space  of  four  years,"  for  1.200 
guilders — which  the  Court  confirmed.  Peter  Bacon,  who  had 
sued  Captain  Christopher  Billop  for  1.080  guilders  for  the  use  of 
a  horse,  taken  from  Passyunk  to  Billop's  plantation  on  Staten 
Island  and  worked  there  four  months  till  he  was  in  a  "sad  and 
poore  condition,"  and  for  other  charges,  obtained  a  judgment 
against  the  defendant,  and  levied  on  his  "servant,"  Justa  Justas- 
sen,  who  was  "in  the  hands  of  Lasse  Cock."  Three  appraisers 
found  the  remaining  time  of  the  man's  service  worth  650  guilders, 
so  Bacon  recovered  that  much  on  his  claim. 

165     . 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  F'ederal 

The  Court  adjusted  numerous  suits  in  an  amicable  way.  Al- 
bert Hendrics  complained  of  Andries  Bertles  that  he  had  killed  his 
"boare,  with  a  gim."  The  defendant  said  the  animal  was  "so 
cruell  that  no  man  could  passe  without  danger."  The  Court  rec- 
ommended them  "niutually  to  compose  the  business  between  them- 
selves." Oele  Oelson  abused  and  assaulted  ("so  that  his  shirt 
was  all  torne  in  peeces"),  the  estimaljle  Israel  Helm,  a  justice  of 
the  Court — to  the  great  scandal  of  every  one.  Oelson  was  or- 
dered to  pay  a  fine  of  150  guilders,  and  "humbly  ask  forgiveness 
of  Justice  Israel  Helm  and  the  Court."  This  was  "openly  done 
by  the  sd  Oele,"  and  then  the  Court  and  Sheriff  "considering  that 
he  was  a  poor  man  with  a  great  charge  of  children,"  remitted  the 
fine,  "upon  his  humble  submission."  Neeles  Laersen  complained 
of  John  Test  that  the  latter  had  been  "troublesome  to  his  son 
about  a  knyf,"  and  desired  "to  know  the  reason  of  the  same." 
They  were  urged  "to  be  friends  and  forgive  one  the  other."  to 
which  they  agreed.  Hans  Petersen  and  the  "dominie,"  the  Lu- 
theran minister,  Laurentius  Carolus,  had  a  suit  about  a  mare,  but 
they  arranged  it  themselves,  dividing  the  costs.  Claes  Cram  sued 
Hans  Petersen  for  defamation,  the  latter  having  called  him  "a 
theef,"  and  charged  him  with  acquiring  "all  his  riches"  by  robbery. 
Hans  was  unable  to  justify  his  charges  and  was  ordered  to  "openly 
declare  himself  a  Lyar,"  in  the  Court,  further  to  "declare  the 
plaintiff  to  bee  an  honest  man,"  and  pay,  besides,  a  fine  and  costs 
of  suit — all  of  which  he  appears  to  have  done. 

Such  are  some  of  the  cases  before  the  justices  at  Upland  in 
that  day.  There  were  others  more  serious,  but  none  is  recorded 
of  a  grade  above  ordinary  misdemeanors.  "Differences"  arose, 
in  numerous  cases,  from  one  of  the  parties  being  "in  liquor." 
The  Court's  ])roceedings  hear  the  mark  of  simple  dignity  and 
plain  justice. 

Interesting  almost  above  all  other  business  was  the  poll-tax 
laid  by  the  Court  in  November,  1677.  This  is  the  first  general 
tax  of  which  we  have  a  complete  record,  though  others  have  been 

166 


Under  the  Duke  of  York 

mentioned  in  precedino-  pages  of  this  history.  The  Court's  min- 
utes say  : 

"The  Court  takeing  into  consideracon  the  Levy  or  Pole 
money  for  the  defraying  of  the  pubhcq  Charges  whereof  the  acct. 
was  made  upp  the  Last  Court,  and  calHng  over  the  List  of  the 
Tydable  persons  in  their  jurisdiction,  doe  find  that  for  the  pay- 
ment of  the  sd  charges  from  every  tydable  prson  must  be  collect- 
ed and  received  the  sume  of  twenty  and  six  guilders,  to  be  paid  in 
either  of  the  following  species  (viz.)  wheat  at  fyve,  rey  and  bar- 
ley at  four  gilders  pr  scipple,^  Indian  Corne  at  three  gilders  per 
scipple ;  Tobacco  at  8  styvers  per  pound ;  porke  at  8  and  bacon  at 
i6  styvers  per  pound:  or  else  in  wampum  or  skins  at  current 
prices." 

The  ''high  Sherrife,"  Captain  Edmund  Cantwell.  was  direct- 
ed to  collect  the  tax  from  the  list  of  persons  furnished  him  by  the 
Court,  and  was  authorized  to  distrain  upon  the  property  of  any 
refusing  payment.  He  was  to  return  his  account  to  the  Court 
before  March  25  (New  Year  day)  next  ensuing,  and  was  to  have 
"5  shillings  in  the  pound" — twenty-five  per  cent. — commission 
on  his  collections. 

The  "List  of  Tydable  persons"  within  the  Court's  jurisdiction, 
from  Christina  creek  to  the  Falls  of  the  Delaware,  has  much 
historic  interest.  It  contains  136  names,  residing  as  follows: 
In  the  district  of  Tacony,  which  included  Philadelphia  and  all 
north  of  it.  65;  at  Carkoen's  Hook  (the  settlers  on  Darby  creek 
and  as  far  west  as  Cobb's  creek).  10:  at  Calkoen's  Hook  (be- 
tween Cobb's  and  Crum  creeks),  15:  at  Upland.  19:  at  Marreties 
(Marcus)  Hook.  19:  and  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Delaware  (in 
Xew  Jersey),    10. 

It  will  be  seen  that  excluding  the  Xew  Jersey  names  rather 
more  than  half  of  the  whole  number  were  in  the  Tacony  district. 

'"Scipple" — schcpel,      a      bushel.        This        The  tobacco  and  pork  would  be  4.8  cents  a 
would  be   sixty  cents   for  wheat,   forty-eight        pound,  and  the  bacon  9.6  cents, 
for     rve     and     barley,     thirtv-six     for    corn. 

167 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

The  number  south  of  the  Pennsylvania  Hne  must  have  been  very 
small,  as  there  were  but  nineteen  altogether  at  Marcus  Hook, 
and  below.  The  list  includes  all  males  between  the  ages  of  six- 
teen and  sixty,  except  a  few  officials,  justices  of  the  courts  and 
others,  who  were  exempt  from  such  tax.  The  whole  number  of 
white  persons,  of  all  ages  and  both  sexes,  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Delaware,  within  the  present  State  of  Pennsylvania,  at  this  time, 
might  be  estimated  at  from  four  hundred  to  five  hundred. 

Sheriff  Cant  well  made  his  return  to  the  Court  sitting  "att  the 
house  of  Justice  Peter    Cock,    in   ye    Schuylkill."    on    the  3d  of 


^^^yoT.u) 


uJ^^afftr 


Signature  of  Joseph  Growdon,  member  of  the  Assembly,  1690 

April,  1678.  He  was  allowed  for  seven  "tydables"  who  were 
"not  Lyable  to  pay."  He  returned,  therefore,  for  129  taxable 
persons  at  26  guilders  per  head,  3,354  guilders,  on  which  he  was 
allowed  884  guilders  as  his  commission.  The  net  proceeds  he 
was  directed  to  pay  to  sundry  persons,  including  Neeles  Laerson, 
for  entertaining  the  Court,  639  guilders;  Lacey  Cock  for  ex- 
penses of  the  Commander  (Captain  John  Collier),  and  the  Sen- 
eca Indians,  in  the  spring  of  1677,  250  guilders;  bounty  on 
wolves'  heads,  420  guilders;  Ephraim  Herman,  clerk  of  the 
Court,  for  several  "extraordinary  services,"  200  guilders;  Jus- 
tice Israel  Helm,  "for  his  severall  services  to  ye  Contry  as  Inter- 
preter about  ye  Indians,"  400  guilders. 

The  names  upon  the  tax  list  are  with  rare  exceptions  those  of 
Swedes.  A  few  English  names,  however,  had  begun  to  appear, 
nearly  all  at  Upland.  One  of  those  living  there  was  Robert 
Wade.  He  came  from  London,  with  the  Salem,  N.  J.,  settlers, 
on  the  ship  Griffith,  in  1675,  and  bought  in  March  of  that  year 
from  Madam  Papegoia  the  "Printzdorp"  property,  and  another 

168 


A  Short 

DESCRIPTION 

o  p 


Or,  A  RcKnion  \Miat  things  are  known, 

enjoyed,  p.r.d  lilcc  to  be  difcovcied  in 

in  tlie  faid  Province. 

(?/  England. 


T)'  Richeird  Frame. 


T Tinted dnd  SoU  ^7  WilUain Bradford  i> 
Philadelphia,    1  6  5?  2. 


Title  page  of  English  book  to  induce  Imniipration  to  Pennsylvania 

I'liotograplicd  especially  for  this  work  by  J.  F. 
Saclise  from  the  only  known  original  in  Phila- 
delphia Library 


Under  the  Duke  of  York 

tract — wliich  she  had  ju>t  Ixiii^iu  of  Xeils  Mattsnii — making'  560 
acres  in  all.  He  called  his  home  "Essex  House."  Another  at 
Upland  was  James  Sandelands.  ( The  entry  on  the  List  is 
"James  Sanderling  and  slave.")  He  was  i)r()l)al)ly  a  Scotchman, 
and  had  come  to  the  Delaware  as  one  of  the  Duke  of  York's 
soldiers,  at  least  as  early  as  1668.  He  married  Ann,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Urien  Keen,  one  of  the  Swedish  immigrants  who  came 
with  Printz.  in  1643,  and  becoming  a  large  landholder  and  pros- 
perous man.  Another  at  Upland  was  John  Test,  a  merchant, 
"of  London,"  who  had  lately  come.  Richard  Noble,  who  was 
appointed  sm-veyor  for  the  Delaware,  in  succession  to  Walter 
W'harton,  at  the  death  of  the  latter,  in  1678,  is  also  rec(^rded  at 
L'pland,  as  is  Ricliard  Jjovington,  obviously  an  Englishman. 
Under  Tacony  is  entered  "~Mv.  Jones,  the  hatter." 

The  payments  to  Lacey  Cock  and  Israel  Helm  in  connection 
w'ith  the  Indians  are  an  index  to  a  passage  of  Indian  history 
which  may  l)e  here  mentioned.  The  Susc|uehannas.  after  their 
overthrow  by  the  Iroquois — chiefly  the  Seneca  tribe — had  be- 
come scattered.  In  the  Council  at  New  York,  August  4,  1676, 
it  was  resolved  "to  write  to  Captain  Cantwell  still  to  encourage 
the  coming  in  of  those  Indians,"  l)ut,  until  they  came,  "not  to 
promise  or  engage  anything  to  them,  but,  if  they  desire  it  the 
Governor  will  endeavor  the  compromise  of  all  things  in  Maryland, 
and  endeavor  a  peace  with  the  Maques  [Mohawks]  and  Sinekes. 
after  which  the  sd  Indyans  may  return  to  their  land  as  they 
shall  think  good."  Temporarily,  those  wlm  came  in  might  be 
placed  at  the  Falls,  "or  the  middle  of  the  river,  at  Delaware" — 
i.  e.  New  Castle.  Captain  John  Collier — successor  to  Capt.  John 
Carr  as  "Commander" — was  ordered  to  carry  a  letter  of  Gover- 
nor Andros  to  the  Maryland  gcnernment,  and  confer  about  the 
Susquehannas.  If  Maryland  would  not  receive  them,  he  might 
say  that  Andros  was  willing  to  do  so. 

In  the  following  year,  April  (1677),  the  Council  at  New 
'^'ork  wrote  to  Captain  Collier:     "If  the  Susfjuchannas  in  any 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

l)art  of  ye  Government  your  way  will  come  hither  (as  was  told 
them  last  year),  and  resolve  to  leave  off  ye  Warre,  they  shall 
have  a  convenient  place  assigned  them  to  their  content,  or  may  go 
and  live  with  ye  Maquas  or  any  other  our  Indyans,"  or  "go  back 
where  they  will."  But  they  were  not  to  be  allow^ed  to  live  on  the 
South  river,  and  the  river  Indians  were  not  to  suffer  their  doing 
so,  "it  being  dangerous  for  both." 

Connected  with  these  letters  is  a  minute  of  a  special  meeting 
of  the  magistrates  of  the  Upland  Court  with  the  "Commander," 


LooA'^ 


Signature   of   William   Clarke,   member  of   Provincial     Council,     1682; 
speaker    of    Assembly,    1692 

Captain  Collier,  at  Upland,  March  13,  1676-7,  "upon  the  news  of 
the  Sineco  Indians  comming  downe  to  fetch  the  Susquehannas 
that  were  amongst  these  River  Indians."  It  was  resolved,  "upon 
the  motions  of  Rinow'ehan,  the  Indian  Sachomore,"  that  Capt. 
Collier  and  Justice  Helm  "goe  up  to  Sachamexin  [Shackamax- 
on],  where  at  present  a  great  number  of  Simico  and  other  In- 
dians are,  and  that  they  endeavor  to  persuade  the  Simecus,  the 
Susquehannos,  and  these  River  Indians  to  send  each  a  Sacho- 
more or  Deputy  to  his  Honor  the  Governor  att  New  Yorke,  and 
that  Justice  Israel  Helm  goe  with  them." 

Drawling  on,  now^  tow^ard  the  time  of  William  Penn's  great 
grant,  there  were  increasing  evidences  of  new^  life  on  the  Dela- 
ware. The  tide  of  English  immigration  to  the  east  bank  of  the 
river,  so  long  almost  unoccupied,  testified  to  an  aw^akened  interest 
in  the  country.  The  settlements  at  Salem  in  1675,  and  Burlington 
in  1677,  stirred  the  settlers  on  the  west  side.  Many  new  grants  of 
land  were  asked  for  in  the  Upland  Court,  from  1677  onward,  the 

172 


Under  the  Duke  of  York. 

majority  by  Swedes,  but  others  by  men  of  English  blood.  Though 
these  grants  were  mostly  near  the  Delaware,  some  were  on  the 
Schuylkill,  and  one  of  300  acres  "att  ye  place  called  Wiessahit- 
konk,"  the  Wissahickon  of  later  day.  Julian  Hartsfelder  got  a 
patent  from  Gov.  Andros,  in  1676,  for  350  acres  in  what  is  now 
Philadelphia.  Elizabeth  Kinsey,  daughter  of  John  Kinsey,  of 
the  Burlington  company,  appeared  in  March,  1678,  as  a  land- 
owner at  Shackamaxon,  where  afterward  she  and  her  husband, 
Thomas  Fairman,  the  surveyor,  lived,  near  the  place  of  the  Great 


Signature  of  Benjamin  Fletcher,  captain-general  and  governor-in-chicf,   1693 

Treaty  with  the  Indians.  Other  English  names  come  into  the 
record — William  Clayton,  at  jMarcus  Hook,  William  Warner,  on 
the  Schuylkill,  William  Woodmancy  at  Upland.  In  the  com- 
missions of  the  Justices  of  Upland  Court,  in  May,  1680,  there 
were  two  English  appointments,  Henry  Jones  and  George 
Browne — the  latter  living  at  the  Falls.  William  Biles  also  set- 
tled at  the  Falls,  and  was  appointed  to  various  offices  there,  in- 
cluding that  of  constable  and  "surveyor  and  overseer  of  the  high- 
ways from  the  Falls  to  Poetquessing  creek."  W"e  shall  hear  of 
him  later. 

The  detachment  of  the  settlers  above  the  Christina — forming 
the  Pennsylvania  community — became  more  definite  in  the  time 
of  Andros.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  Court  at  Upland  was  more 
carefully  marked.       November  12,  1678,  the  record  says: 

"The  limits  and  division  between  this  and  New  Castle  County 
were  this  day  agreed  upon  and  settled  by  this  Court  and  Mr.  John 
Moll,  president  of  New  Castle  Court,  to  bee  as  followeth.  viz. : 

"This  county  of  Upland  to  begin  from  the  north  side  of  Oele 
Fransen's  Creeke,  otherwise  called  Steenkill,  lying  in  the  boght 

^7?> 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

above  ye  Verdrietige  hoeck,  and  from  the  said  creek  over  to  ye 
singeltree  point  on  the  Eastsyde  of  this  river." 

The  line  between  the  two  jurisdictions — Upland  and  New 
Castle — had  been  the  Christina  creek,  but  the  line  now  drawn  left 
the  settlers  about  Christina  to  attend  at  New  Castle,  which  was 
obviously  more  convenient.  The  "Steenkill."  or  Stony  creek, 
at  Oele  Fransen's,  was  the  stream  later  known  as  Ouarryville 
creek,  in  the  present  State  of  Delaware,  nearly  four  miles  below 
the  mouth  of  Naaman's  creek.  "Single  tree  Point,"  on  the  New 
Jersey  shore,  has  been  known  as  Oldman's  Point,  a  mile  below 
the  mouth  of  Oldman's  creek. 

The  designation  "county"  became  commonly  employed.  The 
Upland  record  says  (March  lo.  1679-80),  Richard  Noble  pro- 
duced his  commission  as  "Surveyor  of  this  County."  In  June. 
1680,  it  is  minuted  that:  "In  regard  that  Uplande  Creeke,  where 
ye  Court  hitherto  has  sate  is  att  ye  lower  end  of  ye  County,  the 
Court  therefore,  for  ye  most  care  of  ye  people  have  thought  fitt 
for  ye  future  to  sitt  and  meet  att  ye  Towne  of  Kingsess,  in  ye 
Schuylkills." 

The  details  already  given  will  fairly  describe  the  conditions 
surrounding  the  settlers  at  the  close  of  the  pioneer  period.  A 
few  more  may  be  briefly  given.  There  were  as  yet  no  roads — 
simply  paths  for  horses  and  foot-passengers,  and  cartways  where 
merchandise  was  to  be  transported.  Where  these  ran  through 
the  woods,  as  was  frequent,  they  were  marl:ed  by  "blazed"  trees, 
which  travellers  fcnmd  it  difficult  to  follow.  In  November. 
1678.  the  Court  "ordered  that  every  person  should  within  the 
space  of  two  months  as  far  as  his  land  reaches,  make  good  and 
passable  ways  from  neighl:)or  to  neighbor,  with  bridges  where 
it  needs,  to  the  end  that  neighlxirs  on  occasion  may  come  to- 
gether." But  there  were  certainly  no  bridges  soon  built,  not- 
withstanding this  order ;  the  fording  of  the  streams  was  for  a 
long  time  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  and  dangers  to  travel- 
lers.     In  October.    1680,  the  Court  decided  it  necessary  to  ap- 


Under  the  Duke  of  York 

point  "o\'erseers  of  highways  and  roads,  and  overseers  and 
viewers  of  brirlges  throughout  this  county."  and  made  selections 
accordingly.  Six  months  later.  John  Champion  was  fined 
twenty-five  guilders,  on  the  complaint  of  the  overseer  of  the 
roads,  "for  his  not  working  upon  ye  highway  when  due  warn- 
ing was  given  him.'" 

The  provision  of  mills,  as  well  as  roads  and  bridges,  was  a 
matter  of  concern.  The  "Swedes'  Mill,"  on  Cobb's  creek,  set 
up  by  Printz,  in  1643,  continued  for  many  }ears  in  use,  and  grain 
was  carried  long  distances  to  be  ground  there.  Complaint  was 
made  to  Upland  Court  in  March.  1667-8,  that  people  were  "dayly 
takeing  up  of  land  neare  the  mill."  and  it  "would  be  left  destitute 
of  any  land  to  gett  timber  for  ye  use  of  ye  said  mill,"  so  the  Court 
ordered  one  hundred  acres  to  be  laid  out  on  the  west  side  of  the 
creek  for  the  mill's  use.  The  Dutch  settlers  at  Christina  had  a 
mill  on  Shellpot  creek — "Turtle  Kill" — near  the  present  city  r»f 
Wilmington.  In  November.  16-8.  Upland  Court  granted  Jan 
Schoeten  "a  small  quantity  of  marrish  att  ye  place  called  Hans 
Moensen's  great  mill  fall."  the  quantity  to  be  enough  to  "cut  four 
stacks  of  hay."  and  at  the  same  time,  considering  it  "very  neces- 
sary that  a  mill  be  built  in  the  Schuylkill."  designated  this  stream 
of  Moensen's  as  the  place,  he  promising  to  erect  a  mill.  The 
stream  was  Mill  Creek,  which  enters  the  Schuylkill  below  Wood- 
lands Cemetery,  Philadelphia.  The  English  settlers  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  Delaware  were  provided  for  by  Mahlon  Stacy,  who 
built  in  1679  a  log  mill  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Assunpink.  where 
Trenton  now  stands.  To  this  mill  the  Bucks  county  settlers 
took  their  grain  in  canoes  across  the  river,  in  this  early  time. 

The  condition  of  the  people  in  respect  to  ministry  and 
churches  was  necessarily  poor.  There  was  a  church  of  the  Dutch 
Reformed  faith  at  New  Castle,  to  the  charge  of  which  Petrus 
Tesschenmalcer.  a  young  "licensed  bachelor  in  divinity"  from 
Utrecht,  was  inducted  in  the  autumn  of  1678.  He  preached 
there  some  three  years,  then  went  to  Staten   Island,  and  thence 

'75 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

to  Schenectady,  where  in  the  attack  by  the  French  and  Indians, 
in  1690,  he  was  killed.  The  Swedes,  after  the  departnre  of  Ris- 
ingh  in  1653,  had  but  one  minister  on  the  river,  the  man  who  was 
variously  called  Lacrs,  Laurentius  Carolus,  Lock,  Lokenius,  etc.. 


Great   Meeting  House,  Philadelphia 

Erected  at  Second  and  High  streets  in  1695, 
and  "great"  as  it  then  was,  it  was  taken  down 
in  175s  to  be  made  "greater."  In  t8o8,  the  build- 
ing was  sold  and  afterwards  demolished. 

a  poor  fellow  whose  missteps  and  mischances,  moral  lapses  and 
legal  misdemeanors  are  repeatedly  mentioned  in  the  scanty  chron- 
icle of  the  time.  He  preached  in  the  church  at  Tinicum  island 
that  Printz  built,  and  at  Crane  Hook,  between  Christina  and  New 
Castle,  where  a  log  church  was  built  about  1667.  In  1672  an- 
other Lutheran  minister  came  to  the  Delaware,  Jacobus  Fabritius. 
He  had  trouble  with  the  authorities,  and  was  suspended,  but  in 

176 


Under  the  Duke  of  York 

1677  came  to  have  cliarge  in  the  block-house  church  at  Wicaco, 
where  he  preached  his  first  sermon  on  Trinity  Sunday  of  that 
year.  This  church  at  Wicaco  was  the  second  place  of  pubHc 
worship  in  Pennsylvania — Tinicum  only  preceding  it — and  the 
first  place  in  Philadelphia.  Fabritius  continued  a  pastor  for 
fourteen  years,  until  about  1691,  but  was  totally  blind  from  1682. 
He  died  in  1693.       Lock  had  died  in  1688. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1680 — in  March,  according  to  the 
old  calendar — the  pioneer  period  was  ending.       The  hardships 

Signature    of    Samuel    Carpenter,    assistant    in  Government  under  Markham,  1695 

of  the  earliest  beginnings  were  over.  They  had  been,  on  the 
whole,  small  when  compared  with  what  the  first  settlers  elsewhere 
in  the  eastern  colonies  of  America  had  endured.  No  destructive 
war,  no  deadly  conflicts  with  the  natives,  no  pestilence,  no  famine, 
had  visited  the  Delaware  settlements.  There  had  been  the  usual 
diseases  of  a  new  country,  there  had  been  scanty  food,  coarse  ap- 
parel, and  rude  shelter,  there  had  been  loneliness  and  homesick- 
ness, but  on  the  whole  the  experience  of  over  seventy  years,  since 
Hudson  looked  inside  the  capes'  door,  had  served  to  show  that 
here,  without  great  cost  in  life  or  treasure,  the  homes  of  a  new 
commonwealth  might  be  prosperously  planted. 

Far  detached  from  the  life  of  the  settlers  on  the  Delaware,  an 
episode  of  romantic  interest  claims  attention  before  we  dismiss 
this  period.  It  relates  to  the  discovery  of  western  Pennsylvania 
by  white  men.  We  have  described  the  exploration  by  Cham- 
plain's  guide,  Etienne  Brule,  in  middle  Pennsylvania,  in 
161 5-16.  We  turn  now  to  the  probable  discovery  of  the  Alle- 
gheny and  Ohio  rivers  by  La  Salle,  in  1669. 

1-12  177 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

That  La  Salle  came  in  that  }car  from  Canada  throng-h  Xew 
York,  passed  from  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie  by  Chautauqua  lake  or 
a  route  further  south  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Alleg'heny.  de- 
scended that  river  to  the  Ohio,  and  passed  down  the  Ohio  to  the 
Falls  near  Louisville,  is  a  theory  supported  by  evidence,  and  made 
very  likel}',  if  not  fully  proved.  If  he  did  make  this  journey  at 
or  about  that  time,  he  was,  so  far  as  history  knows,  the  first  white 
man  to  visit  Pennsylvania  west  of  the  mountains,  and  his  tour 
dow'n  the  Allegheny  and  Ohio  was  the  earliest  exploration  of 
those  rivers  by  a  European. 

It  may  be  stated  briefly:  (i)  The  French  afterward  claimed 
possession  of  western  Pennsylvania,  and  based  their  claim  upon 
the  discovery  of  "the  OTiio  and  its  tributaries"  by  La  Salle.  (2) 
La  Salle,  in  the  period  1669-73,  ^^  in  other  years,  was  engaged  in 
expeditions  of  discovery  from  Canada ;  as  to  all  other  years  his 
movements  are  well  known,  but  as  to  this  period  his  own  accounts 
are  totally  lost.  (3)  An  account  remains,  however,  published 
in  Paris,  probably  in  1678,  and  derived,  it  is  said,  from  a  number 
of  conversations  by  the  author  with  La  Salle.  This  contains  a 
brief,  and  in  some  points  geographically  inaccurate,  description 
of  a  tour  like  that  outlined  above — Lake  Erie  to  the  Allegheny, 
to  the  Ohio,  to  the  Falls.  (4)  This  account  from  the  "conver- 
sations" receives  confirmation  in  the  memorial  which  La  Salle 
himself  addressed  to  Count  Frontenac,  French  Governor  of  Can- 
ada, in  1677,  in  which  he  then  declared  that  he  had  previously  chs- 
covered  the  Ohio,  and  had  descended  it  as  far  as  a  fall,  which  ob- 
structed it.  (5)  It  is  further  confirmed  by  maps  which  Louis 
Joliet,  his  rival,  made,  showing  the  region  of  the  Mississippi  and 
the  Great  Lakes ;  on  each  of  them  the  Ohio  is  presented,  and  with 
the  inscription  that  it  was  discovered  by  La  Salle. 

That  it  was  he  ^^•ho  first  of  all  men  descended  the  Ohio 
"may  then  be  regarded  as  established,''  says  Francis  Parkman, 
than  whom  there  is  no  higher  authority  on  such  a  subject.  But 
in  our  present  discussion  we  should  wish  to  know  where  he  en- 

178 


Under  the  Duke  of  "^'ork 

tered  the  Ohio.  Was  it  in  northwestern  Pennsylvania,  over  a 
portage  between  tribntaries  of  Lake  Erie  and  the  Allegheny? 
Most  likel} .  That  furnishes  an  easy  and  natural  route.  It  is 
the  route  which  was  afterward  taken  In  the  French  from  the 
Lakes  to  the  Ohio  valley.  It  is  vaguely  suggested  in  the  "con- 
versations" account.  Such  a  route  by  La  Salle  would  be  need- 
ful, in  order  to  give  basis  to  the  claim  that  he  discovered  the 
"tributaries"  of  the  Ohio,  as  well  as  the  main  river. 

It  is  pleasant  to  connect  the  discovery  of  the  State's  splendid 
western  section  with  the  name  and  fame  of  the  intrepid  French 
explorer — "the  foremost  pioneer  of  the  Great  \\'est,"  as  Park- 
man  has  named  him.       We  l)elieve  it  historically  safe  to  do  so. 

But  La  Salle  is  further  connected  with  Pennsylvania.  The 
l)icturesque  and  striking  episode  of  the  building  of  the  Griffin,  in 
1678-Q,  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  the  voyage  of  the  ship  in  1679, 
and  its  disastrous  and  mysterious  shi])wreck.  is  a  stor\-  which  be- 
longs to  the  waters  that  wash  our  northwestern  shore,  .and  whose 
tradition  for  more  than  two  centuries  has  jiersisted  there. 

This.  then,  is  the  story  of  the  GriiHu.  She  was  the  first  sail- 
\-essel  on  the  (ireat  Lakes.  Bent  upon  their  further  exploration, 
and  a  trade  with  the  Indians  which  might  enable  him  to  repay 
those  who  had  helped  him  equip  his  costly  exi)editii»ns.  La  Salle 
built,  at  the  mouth  of  Cayuga  creek,  on  the  Niagara  river,  six 
miles  above  the  great  cataract,  a  rude  vessel  of  forty-five  tons. 
In  the  sj^ring  of  1679  ^^^^  ^^'^^  launched.  "Five  small  cannon 
looked  out  from  her  port-holes;  and  on  her  prow  was  carved  a 
portentous  monster,  the  griffin,  whose  name  she  bore,  in  honor 
of  the  armorial  l^earings  of  Frontenac."  It  was  August  before 
La  Salle,  who  had  been  forced  to  visit  Canada  meantime,  to  baffle 
importunate  creditors  and  en\-ious  enemies,  was  ready  to  pro- 
ceed; it  was  the  seventh  of  that  month  when,  having  overcome 
the  swift  current  of  the  Niagara  river  by  towing,  they  entered 
the  Lake,  chanted. the  Te  Deiim,  fired  a  salute  of  cannon,  and 
"plowed  the  \'irgin  waves  of   Lake   Erie,    where    sail  was  never 

179 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

seen  before."  They  passed  along  the  shore  where  Buffalo  now 
stands,  by  the  peninsula  which  in  La  Salle's  language .  was  for 
many  a  year  called  Presque  Isle,  where  Erie  is  located,  and  so 
journeyed  on  to  the  West  and  the  upper  lakes.  There,  on  an  island 
at  the  entrance  of  Green  Bay,  La  Salle  loaded  the  vessel  with  the 
furs  which  his  men  had  gathered,  and  decided  to  send  her  back  to 
Niagara,  where  her  cargo  might  appease  his  clamorous  creditors, 
leaving  him  to  press  on  in  his  explorations.  "It  was  a  rash 
resolution,  for  it  involved  trusting  her  to  the  pilot,  who  had 
already  proved  either  incompetent  or  treacherous."  On  the  i8th 
of  September  they  parted,  the  Griffin  eastward,  he  on  his  perilous 
way  to  Illinois.  Baffled  there,  he  built  Fort  Crevecoeur,  near 
where  Peoria  now  stands,  and  returned  in  the  winter,  on  foot,  to 
Canada,  asking  anxiously  for  the  GrifUn.  Where  she  was  no 
one  could  tell  him.  She  had  disappeared !  La  Salle  believed 
the  pilot  and  crew  had  wrecked  her,  and  escaped  with  the  goods 
she  carried  to  the  Indians  of  the  Northwest.  Many  other  stories 
of  her  fate  were  told.  But  there  is  little  doubt  that  she  was  lost, 
whether  by  design  or  accident,  on  the  lake  shore  near  where  she 
was  built.  The  Jesuits — enemies  of  La  Salle — had  a  tradition 
that  she  was  driven  ashore  in  a  gale,  her  crew  killed  by  the  In- 
dians, and  her  goods  plundered.  Articles  found  imbedded  in 
the  sand,  near  Buffalo,  a  century  or  more  after — an  anchor,  and 
rusted  guns  bearing  French  inscriptions — w^ere  thought  to  have 
belonged  to  the  ill-fated  ship. 

BANKERS   AND   SLUYTER'S   JOURNAL.' 

17th,  [November,  i6yg]  Friday. —  .  .  .  Most  of  the  English,  and  many 
others,  have  their  houses  made  of  nothing  but  clapboards,  as  they  call  them 
there,  in  this  manner :  they  first  make  a  wooden  frame,  the  same  as  they 
do  in  Westphalia,  and  at  Altona,  but  not  so  strong;  they  then  split  the  boards 
of  clapwood,  so  that  they  are  like  Cooper's  pipe  staves,  except  they  are  not 
bent.      These  are  made  very  thin,  with  a  large  knife,  so  that  the  thickest  end 

'Ihe  journal  of  these  men,  Jasper  Dank-  Frisia,  in  the  Netherlands,  and  had  become 
ers  and  Peter  Sluyter,  has  been  referred  to  members  of  a  communistic  religious  body  in 
in  the  preceding  chapter.     They   were   from        Germany,     followers    of    Jean    de    Labadie. 

180 


Under  the  Duke  of  York 

is  about  a  pinck  (little  finger)  thick,  and  the  other  is  made  sharp,  like  the 
edge  of  a  knife.  They  are  about  five  or  six  feet  long,  and  are  nailed  on  the 
outside  of  the  frame,  with  the  ends  lapped  over  each  other.  They  are  not 
usually  laid  so  close  together  as  to  prevent  you  from  sticking  a  finger  between 
them,  in  consequence  either  of  their  not  being  well  joined,  or  the  boards  be- 
ing crooked.  When  it  is  cold  and  windy,  the  best  people  plaster  them  with 
clay.  Such  are  most  all  the  English  houses  in  the  country,  e.xcept  those 
they  have  which  were  built  by  people  of  other  nations.  .  . 

iSth,  Saturday. — About  ten  o'clock,  after  we  had  breakfasted,  we  stepped 
into  a  boat,  in  order  to  proceed  on  our  journey  down  the  river.  The  ebb 
tide  was  half  run  out.  .  .  We  went  along,  then,  moving  with  the  tide;  but 
as  Ephraim  was  suffering  with  the  quartan  ague,  and  it  was  now  its  time  to 
come  on,  we  had  to  go  and  lie  by  the  banks  of  the  river,  in  order  to  make  a 
fire,  as  he  could  not  endure  the  cold  in  the  boat.  This  continued  for  about 
an  hour  and  a  half.  The  water  was  then  rising,  and  we  had  to  row  against 
the  current  to  Burlington,  leaving  the  island  of  Matinakonk  lying  on  the  right 
hand.  This  island  formerly  belonged  to  the  Dutch  governor,  who  had  made 
it  a  pleasure  ground  or  garden,  built  good  houses  upon  it,  and  sowed  and 
planted  it.  He  also  dyked  and  cultivated  a  large  piece  of  meadow  or  marsh, 
from  which  he  gathered  more  grain  than  from  any  land  which  had  been  made 
from  woodland  into  tillable  land.  The  English  governor  at  the  Maitathatis 
now  held  it  for  himself,  and  had  hired  it  out  to  some  Quakers,  who  were  liv- 
ing upon  it  at  present.  It  is  the  best  and  largest  island  in  the  South  river ; 
and  is  about  four  English  miles  in  length,  and  two  in  breadth.  It  lies  near- 
est to  the  east  side  of  the  river.  At  the  end  of  this  island  lies  the  Quakers' 
village,  Burlington,  ...  As  we  were  now  at  the  village,  we  went  up  to  the 
ordinary  tavern,  but  there  were  no  lodgings  to  be  obtained  there,  whereupon 
we  re-embarked  in  the  boat,  and  rowed  back  to  Jacob  Hendricks',  who  re- 
ceived us  very  kindly,  and  entertained  us  according  to  his  ability.  The  house, 
although  not  much  larger  than  where  we  were  the  last  night,  was  somewhat 
better  and  tighter,  being  made  according  to  the  Swedish  mode,  and  as  they 
usually  build  their  houses  here,  which  are  block-houses,  being  nothing  else 
than  entire  trees,  split  through  the  middle,  or  squared  out  of  the  rough,  and 
placed  in  the  form  of  a  square,  upon  each  other,  as  high  as  they  wish  to  have 
the  house;  the  ends  of  these  timbers  are  let  into  each  other,  about  a  foot 
from  the  ends,  half  of  one  into  half  of  the  other.  The  whole  structure  is 
thus  made,  without  a  nail  or  a  spike.  The  ceiling  and  roof  do  not  exhibit 
much  finer  work,  except  among  the  most  careful  people,  who  have  the  ceiling 
planked  and  a  glass  window.  The  doors  are  wide  enough,  but  very  low,  so 
that  you  have  to  stoop  in  entering.  These  houses  are  quite  tight  and  warm; 
but  the  chimney  is  placed  in  a  corner.  My  coinrade  and  myself  had  some 
deer  skins  spread  upon  the  floor  to  lie  on,  and  we  were,  therefore,  quite  well 
off,  and  could  get  some  rest.  It  rained  hard  during  the  night,  and  snowed 
and  froze.  .  . 

They  had  come  to  America  to  sock  a   place  in   referring  to   the   Quakers),   but   describes 

to    which   the   Labadists   might   remove,   and  the    Delaware    between    Trenton    and    New 

they     ultimately     secured     from     Augustine  Castle  as  it  appeared  in  the  early  winter  of 

Herman   a   part  of   his  great   tract,   the    Bo-  1679  better  than  any  other  document  which 

hemia    Manor,    in    Maryland.     The    journal  remains   to    us. 
is  harsh  and  censorious  in  tone   (especially 

181 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

iQtIi,  Sunday. — .  .  .  At  noon  the  weather  improved,  and  Ki)hraini  having 
something  to  do  at  Burlington,  we  accompanied  him  there  in  the  boat.  .  .  We 
tasted  here,  for  the  first  time,  peach  brandy,  or  spirits,  which  was  very  good, 
but  would  have  been  better  if  it  had  been  more  carefully  made.  .  . 

20tli,  Monday. — We  went  again  to  the  village  this  morning.  .  .  It  was 
almost  noon  before  we  left.  The  boat  in  wdiich  we  had  come  as  far  as  there 
with  its  owner,  who  intended  to  return  in  it,  was  exchanged  for  another,  be- 
longing to  Upland,  of  which  a  Quaker  was  master,  who  was  going  down 
with  several  others  of  the  same  class.  .  .  We  arrived  about  two  o'clock  at  the 
house  of  another  Quaker,  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  where  we  stopped 
to  eat  our  dinner  and  dry  ourselves.  We  left  there  in  an  hour,  rowing  our 
best  against  the  flood  tide,  until,  at  dark,  we  came  to  Takanij,  a  village  of 
Swedes  and  Fins,  situated  on  the  west  side  of  the  river.       Ephraim  being  ac- 

Signature  of  John   Goodsonn,  assistant   in   Government  under   Markhani,    1695 

quainted,  and  having  business  here,  we  were  all  well  received,  and  slept  upon 
a  parcel  of  deer  skins.  We  drank  very  good  beer  here,  brewed  by  the 
Swedes.  .  .  . 

3ist.  Tuesday. — The  tide  falling,  we  set  out  with  the  day,  and  rowed 
during  the  whole  ebb  and  part  of  the  flood,  until  two  or  three  o'clock,  when 
we  arrived  at  the  island  of  Tynakonk  [Tinicum]  the  fifth  we  had  passed. 
Mantinakonk  and  this  Tinakonk,  are  the  principal  islands,  and  the  best  and 
the  largest.  The  others  are  of  little  importance,  and  some  of  them,  whose 
names  we  do  not  know,  are  all  meadow  and  marsh,  others  are  only  small 
bushes.  .  .  This  Tinakonk  is  the  island  of  which  M.  Arnout  de  la  Grange 
had  said  so  much.  .  .  It  lies  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  and  is  separated 
from  the  west  shore  ...  by  a  small  creek,  as  wide  as  a  large  ditch, 
running  through  a  meadow.  It  is  long  and  covered  with  bushes,  and 
inside  somewhat  marshy.  It  is  about  two  miles  long,  or  a  little  more,  and 
a  mile  and  a  half  wide.  .  .  .  The  southwest  point,  which  only  has  been  and 
is  still  cultivated,  is  barren,  scraggy,  and  sandy,  growing  plenty  of  wild 
onions,  a  weed  not  easily  eradicated.  On  this  point  three  or  four  houses 
are  standing,  built  by  the  Swedes,  a  little  Lutheran  church  made  of  logs, 
and  the  remains  of  the  large  block-house,  which  served  them  in  place  of  a 
fortress,  with  the  ruins  of  some  log  huts.       This  is  the  whole  of  the  manor. 

When  we  arrived  at  this  island,  we  were  welcomed  by  Mr.  Otto  [Ernest 
Cock]  late  nicdiciis,  and  entertained  at  his  house  according  to  his  condition, 
although  he   lives  poorly  enough.  .  .  . 

22nd,  Wednesday. — It  was  rainy  all  this  day,  which  gave  us  sufficient 
time  to  explore  the  island.  We  had  some  good  cider  which  he  had  made 
out  of  the  fruit  from  the  remains  of  an  old  orchard  planted  by  the  Swedish 
governor.  .  .  We  saw  an  ox  as  large  as  they  have  in  Friesland  or  Denmark, 
and  also  quite  fat — a  species  of  which  we  have  observed  more  among  the 
Swedes,  and  which  thrive  well.       It  clearing  up  towards  evening,  we  took  a 

182 


Under  tiic  Duke  of  York 

canoe  and  came  after  dark  to  Upland.  This  is  a  small  village  of  Swedes, 
although  it  is  now  overrun  by  English.  We  went  to  the  house  of  the 
Quaker  who  had  brought  us  down,  and  carried  the  other  persons  from  Tina- 
konk.  .  .  . 

33d,  Thursday. — It  was  late  before  we  left  here,  and  we  therefore  had  time 
to  look  around  a  little,  and  see  the  remains  of  the  residence  of  Madam  Pape- 
gay,  who  had  had  her  dwelling  here  when  she  left  Tiuakouk.  We  had  nowhere 
seen  so  many  vines  together  as  we  saw  here,  which  had  been  planted  for  the 
purpose  of  shading  the  walks  on  the  river  side,  in  between  the  trees.  .  .  . 
\\'hen  the  meal  [dinner]  was  finished,  Ephraim  obtained  a  horse  for  himself 
and  his  wife,  and  we  followed  him  on  foot,  carrying  our  traveling  bags.  .  . 
After  we  had  proceeded  about  three  hours,  our  guide  missed  the  way,  and 
we  had  gone  a  good  distance  before  he  became  aware  of  it,  and  would  have 
gone  on  still  further  if  we  had  not  told  him  that  we  thought  the  course  we 
were  going  was  wrong.  We  therefore  left  one  road,  and  went  straight  back 
in  search  of  the  other  which  we  at  length  found.  A  man  overtook  us  who 
was  going  the  same  way,  and  we  followed  him.  We  crossed  the  Schilt- 
padts  kil  [Tortoise  or  Turtle  creek],  where  there  was  a  fall  of  water  over  the 
rocks,  affording  a  site  for  a  grist-mill  which  was  erected  there.  This 
Sdiiltf^adts  kil  is  nothing  but  a  branch  or  arm  of  Christina  kil,  into  which  it 
discharges  itself,  and  is  so  named  on  account  of  the  quantities  of  tortoises 
which  are  found  there.  Having  crossed  it  we  came  to  the  house  of  the  mil- 
ler, who  was  a  Swede  or  Holsteiner  whom  they  usually  call  Tapoesic.  .  .  . 

J^tli,  Friday. — Ephraim  having  some  business  here,  we  did  not  leave  very 
speedily.  This  miller  had  shot  an  animal  they  call  a  muskrat,  the  skin  of 
which  we  saw  hanging  up  to  dry.  He  told  us  they  were  numerous  in  the 
creeks.  ...  It  was  about  noon  when  we  were  set  across  the  creek  in  a  canoe. 
We  proceeded  thence  a  small  distance  over  land  to  a  place  where  the  fortress 
of  Christina  had  stood  which  had  been  constructed  and  possessed  by  the 
Swedes,  but  taken  by  the  Dutch  Governor,  Stuyvesant,  and  afterwards,  I  be- 
lieve, demolished  by  the  English.  We  went  into  a  house  here  belonging 
to  some  Swedes,  with  whom  Ephraim  had  some  business.  \\"e  were  then 
taken  over  Christina  creek  in  a  canoe,  and  landed  at  the  spot  where  Stuy- 
vesant threw  up  his  battery  to  attack  the  fort,  and  compelled  them  to  surren- 
der. At  this  spot  there  are  many  medlar  trees  which  bear  good  fruit,  from 
which  one  Jaquet,  who  does  not  live  far  from  here,  makes  good  brandy  or 
spirits,  which  we  tasted  and  found  even  better  than  Franch  brand}'.  Ephraim 
obtained  a  horse  at  this  Jatjuct's,  and  rode  on  towards  Santhock,  now  New- 
castle, and  we  followed  him  on  foot,  his  servant  leading  the  way.  We  ar- 
rived about  four  o'clock  at  Ephraim's  house.  .  .  . 

3Stli,  Saturday. — We  rested  a  little  to-day.  Ephraim  and  his  wife  and 
we  ourselves  had  several  visits  from  different  persons  who  came  to  welcome 
us,  as  Mous.  Jan  Moll,  whom  we  had  conversed  with  in  Xew  York,  and  who 
now  offered  us  his  house  and  all  things  in  it,  even  pressing  them  upon  us. 
But  we  were  not  only  contented  with  our  present  circumstances,  but  we  con- 
sidered that  we  would  not  be  doing  right  to  leave  Ephraim's  house  without 
reason.  .  .  .  Peter  Aldrix  also  showed  us  much  attention,  as  did  others,  to 
all  of  which  we  returned  our  thanks.  We  went  out  to  view  this  little  place, 
which  is  not  of  much  moment,  consisting  of  only  forty  or  fifty  houses.  There 
is  a  fine  prospect  from  it,  as  it  lies  upon  a  point  of  the  river  where  I  took  a 
sketch. 


i«3 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 


26th,  Sunday. — We  went  to  the  church,  but  the  minister,  Tessemaker, 
who  has  to  perform  service  in  three  places,  over  the  river,  Newcastle,  and 
Apoquemenc,  was  to-day  over  the  river,  and  there  was,  therefore,  nothing 
done,  except  what  was  done  by  a  poor  limping  clerk,  as  he  was  a  cripple  ancj 
poor  in  body.  He  read  from  a  book  a  sermon,  or  short  explanation,  and 
sung  and  made  a  prayer,  if  it  may  be  called  such,  and  then  the  people  went 
home.  In  the  afternoon  there  was  a  prelection  again  about  the  catechism. 
.  .  .   [From  New  Castle  they  went  to  Maryland,  returning  on  the  15th  of  De- 


cember. They  remained  there  ten  days,  finding  it  difficult  to  arrange  for  a 
boat  up  the  river.] 

[December]  25th,  Monday. — The  weather  being  good,  we  spoke  again  to 
our  Swedes,  but  they  continued  obstinate ;  and  also  to  Jan  Boeyer,  but  nothing 
could  be  done  with  him  either.  While  we  were  standing  on  the  shore  talk- 
ing with  them  about  leaving,  I  saw  coming  down  the  river  a  boat  which 
looked  very  much  like  that  of  the  Quaker  of  Upland,  as  indeed  it  was.  He 
landed  at  Newcastle  and  was  going  to  Ephraim's  house,  where  he  had  some 
business  to  transact,  intending  to  leave  the  next  day.  We  asked  him  if  he 
was  willing  to  take  us  with  him,  and  he  said,  he  would  do  so  with  pleasure. 

26th,  Tuesday. — All  the  letters  having  been  collected  together,  which  we 
were  to  take  with  us  and  deliver,  and  the  Quaker  having  finished  his  busi- 
ness, we  breakfasted  together,  and  courteously  took  leave  of  all  our  acquaint- 
ances. .  .  .  We  will  observe  before  leaving  Sand-hoek,  that  it  has  always 
been  the  principal  place  on  the  South  river,  as  well  in  the  time  of  the  Eng- 
lish as  of  the  Dutch.  It  is  now  called  New  Castle  by  the  English.  .  .  . 
Formerly  all  ships  were  accustomed  to  anchor  here,  for  the  purpose  of  pay- 
ing duties  or  obtaining  permits,  and  to  unload,  when  the  goods  were  carried 
away  by  water  in  boats  or  barks,  or  by  land  in  carts.       It  was  much  larger 


184 


Under  the  Duke  of  York 

and  more  populous  at  that  time,  and  had  a  small  fort  called  Nassau ;  but 
since  the  country  has  belonged  to  the  English,  ships  may  no  longer  come 
here,  or  they  must  first  declare  and  unload  their  cargoes  at  New  York,  which 
has  caused  this  little  place  to  fall  off  very  much,  and  even  retarded  the  settle- 
ment of  plantations.  What  remains  of  it  consists  of  about  fifty  houses,  most 
all  of  wood.  The  fort  is  demolished,  but  there  is  a  good  block-house,  hav- 
ing some  small  cannon,  erected  in  the  middle  of  the  town,  and  sufficient  to  re- 
sist the  Indians  or  an  incursion  of  Christians;  but  it  could  not  hold  out  long. 
Returning  now  to  our  boat,  it  left  about  ten  o'clock  for  a  place  a  little 
higher  up  the  river,  where  they  had  to  take  in  some  wheat,  and  where  we  were 
to  go  on  foot,  with  the  Quaker's  wife.  We  reached  it  about  noon,  and  found 
the  boat  laden,  and  lying  high  up  on  the  land,  so  that  we  had  to  wait  until 
the  tide  was  half  flood.  We  saw  there  a  piece  of  meadow  or  marsh,  which 
a  Dutch  woman  had  dyked  in,  and  which  they  assured  us  had  yielded  an  hun- 


Uerfi^^fmcoc^K 


Signature    of    John    Simcocks,    speaker    of    the   Assembly,   1696 

dred  for  one,  of  wheat,  notwithstanding  the  hogs  had  done  it  great  damage. 
The  boat  getting  afloat,  we  left  about  three  o'clock,  and  moved  up  with  the 
tide.  The  weather  was  pleasant  and  still,  with  a  slight  breeze  sometimes  from 
the  west,  of  which  we  availed  ourselves;  but  it  did  not  continue  long,  and  we 
had  to  rely  upon  our  oars.  We  arrived  at  Upland  about  seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  and  it  was  there  only  half  flood,  so  much  later  does  the  tide  make 
there  than  at  New  Castle.  The  Quaker  received  us  kindly,  gave  us  supper, 
and  counseled  with  us  as  to  how  we  should  proceed  further.  .  .  . 

^7th,  Wednesday. — It  rained  some  during  the  night  and  it  was  very  misty 
early  in  the  morning.  Before  the  tide  served  to  leave,  we  agreed  with  this 
man  who  had  brought  us  up,  to  send  us  in  his  boat  to  Burlington,  with  two 
boys  to  manage  it,  paying  him  twenty  guilders  for  the  boat,  and  three  guild- 
ers a  day  to  each  of  the  boys  for  three  days,  amounting  in  the  whole  to  thirty- 
eight  guilders;  but  one  of  the  boys  wishing  too  much,  he  determined  to  take 
us  up  himself.  A  good  wind  coming  out  of  the  south,  we  breakfasted  and 
dined  in  one  meal,  and  left  about  ten  o'clock,  with  a  favorable  wind  and  tide, 
though  at  times  the  wind  was  quite  sharp.  We  sailed  by  Tinakotik  again, 
but  did  not  land  there.  It  began  at  noon  to  rain  very  hard,  and  continued 
so  the  whole  day,  and  also  blew  quite  hard.  We  ran  aground  on  the  lee 
shore  upon  a  very  shallow  and  muddy  place,  from  which  we  got  off  with  dif- 
ficulty. On  account  of  this  and  other  accidents,  if  we  had  had  the  boys  it 
would  have  been  bad  for  us.  We  arrived  at  JVykakoe,  a  Swedish  village  on 
the  west  side  of  the  river,  in  the  evening  at  dusk,  where  we  went,  all  wet, 
into  the  house  of  one  Otto,  who  had  three  children  lying  sick  with  the  small- 
pox. We  dried  ourselves  here  partly.  He  gave  us  supper  and  took  us  to 
sleep  altogether  in  a  warm  stove  room,  which  they  use  to  dry  their  malt  in 
and  other  articles.  It  was  very  warm  there,  and  our  clothes  in  the  morning 
were  entirely  dry. 


,8s 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

28tli,    Thnrsday.^lt    was    flood    at    daylight    when    we    left The 

weather  was  foggy,  but  when  the  sun  had  risen  a  little,  it  cleared  away  and 
became  pleasant  and  calm.  We  therefore  advanced  rapidly,  rowing  with  the 
tide,  and  reached  TakiDiy  of  which  we  have  before  spoken,  about  ten  o'clock, 
and  where  we  landed  a  person  who  had  come  up  with  us.  We  continued  on, 
and  as  the  tide  just  commenced  rising  there  we  had  a  constant  flood  tide  with 
us  to  Burlington,  where  we  arrived  about  two  o'clock.  We  were  put  ashore 
on  an  island  of  Peter  Aldrix,  who  had  given  us  a  letter  of  recommendation 
to  a  person  living  there,  and  working  for  him.  We  paid  Robert  Wade,  who 
and  his  wife  are  the  best  Quakers  we  have  found.  They  have  always  treated 
us  kindly.  He  went  immediately  over  to  Burlington,  where  he  did  not  stop 
long,  and  took  the  ebb  tide  and  rowed  with  it  down  the  river.  .  .  . 

The  man  who  lived  on  this  island  was  named  Barent,  and  came  from 
Groningen.       He  was  at  a  loss  to  know  how  to  get  us  on  further.       Horses, 

Signatme    of    John    Blunston,    speaker    of    the    Assembly,    1697 

absolutely,  he  could  not  furnish  us  ;  and  there  was  no  Indian  about  to  act  as 
a  guide,  as  they  had  all  gone  out  hunting  in  the  woods,  and  none  of  them  had 
been  at  his  house  for  three  weeks.  To  accompany  us  himself  to  Achter  kol 
or  the  Rarifans  and  return,  could  not  be  accoinplished  in  less  than  four  days, 
and  he  would  have  to  leave  his  house  meantime  in  charge  of  an  Indian  woman 
from  Virginia,  who  had  left  her  husband,  an  Englishman,  and  with  two  chil- 
dren, one  of  which  had  the  small-pox,  was  living  with  him ;  and  she  could 
be  of  no  use  to  any  one,  whether  Indians  or  other  persons  who  might  come 
there.  .  .  . 

About  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  a  young  Indian  arrived  with  whom 
we  agreed  to  act  as  our  guide,  for  a  dufifels  coat  which  would  cost  twenty- 
four  guilders  in  ccczvant,  that  is,  about  five  guilders  in  the  money  of  Holland; 
but  he  had  a  fowling-piece  with  him  which  he  desired  first  to  take  and  have 
repaired  at  Burlington,  and  would  then  come  back.  He  accordingly  crossed 
over,  but  we  waited  for  him  in  vain,  as  he  did  not  return.  The  greatest 
difliculty  with  him  was,  that  we  could  not  speak  the  Indian  language,  and  he 
could  not  speak  a  word  of  anything  else.  He  not  coming,  we  asked  Barent 
if  he  would  not  undertake  the  task,  which,  after  some  debate,  he  consented 
to  do.  He  arranged  his  afifairs  accordingly  and  prepared  himself  by  making 
a  pair  of  shoes  or  foot-soles  of  deer  skin,  which  are  very  comfortable,  and 
protect  the  feet.  That  was  done  in  half  an  hour.  We  were  to  give  him 
thirty  guilders  in  zeewant,  with  which  he  was  satisfied. 

2Qth,  Friday. — We  breakfasted,  and  left  about  ten  o'clock  in  a  canoe, 
which  set  us  on  the  west  s-ide  of  the  river,  along  which  a  footpath  runs  a 
part  of  the  way,  in  an  east  northeast  direction,  and  then  through  the  woods 
north  northeast.  We  followed  this  path  until  we  came  to  a  plantation, 
newly  begun  by  a  Quaker,  where  we  rested  and  refreshed  ourselves.  We 
agreed  with  this  man,  who  came  in  the  house  while  we  were  there,  that  he 
should  put   us  over  the   river  for  three  guilders    in    zeewant.       We    crossed 

186 


Under  the  Duke  of  York 

over  about  one  o'clock,  and  pursued  a  footpath  along  the  river,  which  led  us 
to  a  cart  road,  and  following  that  we  came  to  the  new  grist-mill  at  the  falls, 
which,  in  consequence  of  the  great  flow  of  water,  stood  in  danger  of  being 
washed  away.  Crossing  here,  we  began  our  journey  in  the  Lord's  name, 
for  there  are  no  houses  from  this  point  to  Pcskattcivay,  an  English  village  on 
the  Raritans.  We  had  now  gone  twelve  or  thirteen  miles  from  Peter 
.Mdrix's  island,  and   it   was  about  two  o'clock   in   the  afternoon. 

PASSAGE  IX  THE  "COXVERSATIOXS"  ACCOUXT  OF  LA  SALLE'S 
EXPEDrriOX  OF  1669 

"Cependant  M.  de  la  Salle  continua  son  chemin  par  une  riviere  qui  va  de 
Test  a  I'ouest ;  et  passe  a  Onontaque  [Onondaga]  puis  a  six  ou  sept  lieues  au- 
dessous  du  Lac  Erie;  et  estant  parvenu  jusqu'au  28ome  ou  83me  degre  de  lon- 
gitude ,et  jusqu'au  41  me  degre  de  latitude, trouva  un  sault  qui  tombe  vers  I'ouest 
dans  un  pays  bas,  marescajeux,  tons  convert  de  vielles  souches,  dont  il  y  en  a 
quelques-unes  qui  sont  encore  sur  pied.  II  fut  done  contraint  de  prendre  terre, 
et  suivant  une  hauteur  qui  le  pouvoit  niener  loin,  il  trouva  (|uelque  sauvages, 
qui  luy  dirent  que  fort  loin  de  la  le  mesme  fleuve  qui  se  perdoit  dans  cette  terre 
basse  et  vaste  se  reunnisoit  en  un  lit.  II  continua  done  son  chemin,  niais 
comme  la  fatigue  estoit  grande,  23  or  24  hommes  qu'il  avoit  memesjusque  la 
le  quitterent  tons  en  une  nuit,  regagnerent  le  fleuve,  et  le  sauverent,  les  uns 
a  la  Xouvelle  HoUande,  et  les  autres  a  la  Xouvelle  Angleterre.  II  se  vit  done 
seul  a  400  lieues  de  chez  luy,  011  il  ne  laisse  pas  de  revenir,  remontant  la 
riviere,  et  vivant  de  chasse.  d'herbes,  et  de  ce  que  luy  donnerent  les  sauvages 
qu'il  rencontra  en  son  chemin." 

[Meanwhile  M.  de  la  Salle  continued  his  journey  by  a  stream  which 
flows  from  east  to  west,  and  passed  Onondaga  ;  then  at  a  distance  of  six  or 
seven  leagues  below  Lake  Erie,  and  having  reached  the  280th  or  283d  degree 
of  longitude,  and  as  far  as  the  41st  degree  of  latitude,  he  found  a  waterfall, 
which  falls  toward  the  west  into  a  region  low,  swampy,  quite  covered  with 
old  stumps,  of  which  some  are  still  standing.  So  he  was  forced  to  land, 
and  following  a  ridge  which  promised  to  carry  him  far,  he  found  a  few  sav- 
ages who  told  him  that  very  far  from  there  the  same  river  which  disappeared 
in  that  wide  low  land  united  again  in  a  bed.  So  he  went  on  his  way,  but  as 
the  effort  was  very  fatiguing,  22,  or  24  men  that  he  had  led  that  far  all  left 
him,  during  the  same  night,  went  back  to  the  river  and  decamped,  some  to 
Xew  Holland,  and  others  to  Xew  England.  So  he  found  himself  alone  at 
400  leagues  from  home,  when  he  lost  no  time  in  returning,  rc-asccnding  the 
stream,  and  living  on  game,  on  herbs,  and  on  what  the  savages  <vliom  he  met 
on  the  way  gave  him.] 


.87 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  FOUNDER  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 

THE  personality  of  William  Penn  was  woven  into  the  fabric 
of  his  colony.     It  is   hardly  possible  to  sever  the  two, 
or   to   understand    the   one   without   a   good   knowledge 
of  the  other. 

We  return,  therefore,  to  the  year  1644,  when  Printz,  newly 
arrived  on  the  Delaware,  was  ruling  the  Swedish  settlement  from 
his  capital  on  Tinicum  Island,  and  the  Dutch  at  Manhattan,  in 
despair  over  the  Indian  war  and  the  other  evils  of  Kieft's  direct- 
orship, were  appealing  pitifully  to  the  mother-country  for  succor. 
In  that  year,  in  October,  Captain  William  Penn,  the  commander 
of  an  English  warship,  was  at  London,  under  orders  to  proceed 
to  the  coast  of  Ireland  to  help  fight  the  battle  of  the  Parliament 
against  Charles  the  First.  Captain  Penn  was  young  for  the  rank 
he  held ;  he  was  twenty-three.  His  family,  the  Penns,  were  from 
the  west  of  England — originally  perhaps,  from  Wales — and  he 
had  been  born  at  Bristol,  then  one  of  the  chief  ports  for  English 
commerce.  His  wife  was  from  Holland,  Margaret  Jasper,  the 
daughter  of  John  Jasper,  a  merchant  of  Rotterdam,  and  he  had 
fixed  his  home  in  London,  to  the  east  of  the  old  city,  near  the 
Tower.  Here,  on  the  14th  of  October  (1644),  his  first  child 
was  born. 

This  child,  our  William  Penn.  the  Founder  of  Pennsylvania, 
was  educated  first  at  Chigwell.  in  Essex,  a  few  miles  northeast  of 
London.     But  when  he  was  about  twelve,  the  family  removed  to 

188 


The  Founder  of  Pennsylvania 

the  south  of  Ireland,  where  Captain  Penn  had  "estates"  which 
Cromwell  had  given  him — confiscated  property  of  royalists.  The 
boy  was  there  some  time  in  the  charge  of  private  tutors,  but  in 
1660,  when  he  was  sixteen  years  old,  he  was  sent  a  student  to  the 
University  of  Oxford.  His  father  was  now  a  vice-admiral  of 
England,  had  been  concerned  in  the  restoration  of  the  king,  and 
had  been  made  a  knight. 

The  Oxford  student,  it  soon  developed,  was  quite  a  different 
person  from  the  vice-admiral  of  the  royal  navy,  though  their 
relationship  was  that  of  father  and  son.  Between  Sir  William 
Penn  and  our  William  Penn  there  was  a  marked  divergence  of 
character,  as  we  shall  in  due  time  sufficiently  see.  The  seeds  of 
a  new  thought,  of  new  life,  of  a  revived  and  reformed  society, 
were  planted  in  the  mind  of  the  boy,  to  bring  forth  fruit  later. 
In  his  childhood  at  Chigwell  he  had  run  and  played  in  Hainault 
Forest,  near  by,  and  had  even  then  experienced  the  "long,  long 
thoughts"  of  his  developing  consciousness  and  conscience.  He 
had  received  religious  impressions,  as  he  tells  us,  in  his  twelfth 
year — perhaps  in  Ireland  after  the  removal  thither.  Coming 
now  to  Oxford,  the  seat  of  traditional  "prerogative"  in  Church 
and  State,  at  the  very  hour  of  the  Restoration,  when  the  triumph 
of  the  enemies  of  Puritanism  was  complete, 'he  found  much  that 
shocked  him — "darkness  and  debauchery,"  as  he  afterward  de- 
scribed it — and  his  opposition  to  this  soon  brought  him  into  a 
strait  place. 

The  ordinary  difficulties  of  a  serious  youth,  inclined  to  dream 
dreams  of  reforming  society,  at  Oxford  in  1660,  would  have  been 
sufficiently  great,  but  in  the  course  of  his  two  years'  stay  there, 
young  Penn  increased  them  materially.  He  inclined  to  become 
a  Quaker.  We  must  pause  a  moment  to  concider  what  this 
implied.  There  was,  in  1660,  a  new  religious  body  gathering  in 
England,  by  the  preaching  of  George  Fox.  a  man  twenty  years 
older  than  William  Penn.  He  had  begun  his  religious  labors 
between  1646  and  1650,  in  the  midland  counties  of  England,  and 

189 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

at  the  Restoration  the  l-'riends.  or  Quakers,  were  well  known  in 
most  courts  and  jails  from  Cornwall  to  Cumberland.  At  Ox- 
ford, Thomas  Loe.  a  respectable  citizen,  was  a  preacher  in  the 


i^^~: 


Gloria   Dei    (Old   Swedes')    Church 

small   meeting-  which   they   \-entured   to  hold   there,   and   Penn, 
hearing  him,  was  strongly  influenced  by  his  ministry. 

The  views  of  George  Fox  were  far  remo^'ed  from  those  pre- 
scribed by  and  exemplified  in  the  University  of  Oxford  in  the 


190 


The  Founder  of  Pennsyhaiiia 

time  of  Charles  the  Second.  Fox  held  and  preached  the  doctrine 
of  the  Inner  Light — an  innate  s])iritnal  ahility  to  l)e  tau,^ht  direct- 
ly from  Ciod.  Such  a  doctrine  is  sul)\crsi\e  of  ecclesiastical  sys- 
tems, and  destructi\e  no  less  to  ritual  and  ceremonial.  It  is 
essentially  a  democratic  doctrine,  assuming-  the  common  and 
equal  status  of  all  men  in  the  sight  of  their  Maker.  Moreover 
its  log-ic  leads  to  quietude  of  life,  to  a  refined  Puritanism  of  con- 
duct— all  of  which  was  offensive  indeed  in  the  year  1660,  in  the 
University  of  Oxford.  To  have  endured  the  Cromwellian  re- 
gime had  heen  hitterness,  hut  to  he  confronted  1)\-  a  sect  which 
carried  even  further  the  "levelings"  of  Puritanism,  was  not  to  he 
suffered.  The  Quaker  preachers  were  therefore  very  commonly 
mobbed,  and  sometimes  publicly  whipped  in  that  city.  In  1654, 
two  women.  Elizabeth  Heavens  and  I'^lizabeth  Fletcher,  "who 
came  from  the  north  of  England  to  exhort  the  scholars  in  their 
colleges,"  were  beaten  and  abused,  and  afterward  "whipped 
forth"  from  the  city,  while  others,  men  mid  women,  including 
Thomas  Loe  and  his  wife,  were  imprisoned  fur  preaching. 

It  resulted  that  for  his  general  attitude  of  revolt  against 
University  conditions,  and  especially  his  refusal  to  "conform" 
to  the  established  order  in  the  Church,  in  1662  young  Penn  was 
"banished  the  college,"  and  concluded  his  studies  there.  His 
father  was  bitterly  displeased.  He  had  counted  on  his  son's  pur- 
suing the  course  he  had  laid  out — the  path  of  promotion  in  rank 
and  wealth  which  he  had  himself  with  good  success  followed: 
but  the  ])ros])ect  now  was  that  this  expectation  would  be  wholly 
frustrated  by  the  youth's  adopting  views  of  religion  and  life 
which  were  fatal  to  a  merel)'  personal  ambition. 

After  leaving  Oxford,  young  Penn  was  sent  by  his  father  to 
travel  on  the  continent;  he  studied  theology  awhile  under  an 
eminent  Protestant  teacher.  Amyraut.  at  Saumur,  in  France,  and 
proceeding  farther  on  his  tour,  returned  to  London  in  1664. 
having  become  somewhat  inthienced.  probably,  by  his  life  abroad. 
The  diary  of  that  back-biting  gossip  Samuel   I'epys  reports  him 

191 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

grown  a  "most  modish  person,"  a  ''fine  gentleman."  When  the 
war  W'ith  the  Dutch  followed — caused  in  part  by  the  seizure  of 
New^  Netherland — Admiral  Penn  commanded  the  English  fleet, 
under  the  Duke  of  York,  in  the  fierce  naval  engagement  off  the 
east  coast  of  England,  at  Lowestoft,  in  June,  1665,  and  just 
before  the  battle,  his  son  was  sent  to  the  King,  once  or  more,  with 
dispatches.  A  letter  from  W.  P.  to  his  father,  6th  May,  1665, 
is  as  follows :  "At  my  arrival  at  Harwich  .  .  I  took  post  for 
London,  and  was  there  the  next  morning  by  almost  daylight.  I 
hastened  to  Whitehall,  where  not  finding  the  King  up,  I  presented 
myself  to  my  Lord  of  Arlington  and  Colonel  Ashburnham,  At 
his  Majesty's  knocking,  he  was  informed  there  was  an  express 
from  the  Duke;  at  which  earnestly  slipping  out  of  his  bed,  he 
came  only  in  his  gown  and  slippers ;  who,  when  he  saw  me,  said, 
'Oh!  is't  you?  how  is  Sir  William?'  He  asked  how  you  did  at 
three  several  times.  .  .  After  interrogating  me  about  half  an 
hour  he  bid  me  go  about  your  business,  and  mine  too." 

The  prevalence  of  the  Plague  in  London  sent  young  Penn  out 
of  town,  and  presently  he  went  to  Ireland,  to  attend  to  his  father's 
property.  There  he  remained  for  nearly  two  years,  and  two  ex- 
periences, strongly  contrasted  in  character,  occurred  to  him.  He 
was  in  service  as  a  soldier,  in  May,  1666,  under  Lord  Arran,  at 
the  siege  of  Carrickfergus — about  which  time  the  well-known 
picture  of  him,  the  "portrait  in  armor,"  is  supposed  to  have  been 
painted.  A  few  months  later,  at  Cork,  he  again  heard  Thomas 
Loe,  the  Oxford  preacher,  present  the  views  of  the  Friends.  The 
speaker  employed  a  text  which  itself  no  doubt  strongly  moved  his 
young  hearer :  "There  is  a  faith  which  overcomes  the  world. 
and  there  is  a  faith  which  is  overcome  by  the  world."  He  spoke 
afterward,  in  his  account  of  his  journey  in  Germany,  in  1677, 
of  this  incident  as  a  providential  rescue  from  the  "worldly  life" 
which  he  was  then  likely  to  have  led,  notwithstanding  his  earlier 
convictions.  "It  was,"  he  said,  "at  this  time  that  the  Lord 
visited  me  with  a  certain  sound  and  testimony  of  his  eternal 

192 


VA  AA  A  V.  'A'\    AWh  K  VY.  A  VV 


r.irlqlj; 


B  E  A  J  /I  lU  I  -\    h  R  A  N  KL  IN 


Hitched  for  tliis  work  by  Albert  Rosenthal  from  the  painting  by  Charles  W'illson  I'eale 
Owned  by  Mrs.  Joseph  Harrison.  Thiladelphia 


%:^Mt^^A^^'S^  :^^nnj^',n'fu:a  J^a^l^u^^/ ,'^---^'jA>.'y  .i'iiti/f'^<^U^-  r90f 


The  Founder  of  Pennsylvania 

Word,  through  one  of  those  the  world  calls  Quakers,  namely 
Thomas  Loe." 

From  this  time,  near  the  close  of  the  year  1667,  the  young 
man  definitely  united  himself  with  the  Friends,  and  so  remained 
until  his  death,  fifty-one  year's  later.  W'e  need  not  here  pursue 
his  biography,  in  detail.  We  may  mention  simply  that  Admiral 
Penn  died  in  1670,  worn  out  at  forty-nine,  and  his  son  succeeded 
to  his  estates.  In  April,  1672.  he  married  Gulielma  Maria 
Springett,  daughter  of  Sir  William  Springett,  a  Puritan,  and  an 
officer  for  the  Parliament,  who  had  fallen  quite  early  in  the  Civil 
War. 

We  may  proceed  now  to  connect  \\'iniam  Penn  with  the  colo- 
nization of  America.  According  to  a  statement  made  years 
afterward,  he  had  thought  of  the  New  World,  probably  as  a 
place  of  refuge,  in  the  days  of  his  student  troubles  at  Oxford. 
In  a  letter  written  in  1681,  after  he  had  obtained  his  charter  for 
Pennsylvania,  he  says,  "I  had  an  opening  of  joy  as  to  these  parts, 
in  the  year  1661,  at  Oxford,  twenty  years  ago."  Probably  the 
thought  of  a  colony  in  America  had  thus  long  lain  in  his  mind. 
It  is  certain  that  even  earlier  than  1661  George  Fox  had  been 
making  plans  for  a  Quaker  colony  on  the  Susquehanna.  Fox 
wrote  in  1660  to  Josiah  Cole,  an  English  Friend  who  was  then — 
for  the  second  time — traveling  and  preaching  in  ^Maryland,  asking 
him  to  look  for  land,  and  Cole  replied  in  February,  1660-61,  in  a 
letter  which  has  particular  interest  for  us : 

"Dear  George — As  concerning  Friends  buying  a  piece  of 
land  of  the  Susquehanna  Indians,  I  have  spoken  of  it  to  them, 
and  told  them  what  thou  said  concerning  it;  but  their  answer 
was  that  there  is  no  land  that  is  habitable  or  fit  for  situation 
beyond  Baltimore's  liberty  till  they  come  to  or  near  the  Susque- 
hannas'  fort  ....  and  besides  these  Indians  are  at  war 
with  another  nation  of  Indians,  who  are  very  numerous,  and  it  is 
doubted  by  some  that  in  a  little  space  they  will  be  so  destroyed 
that  they  will  not  be  a  people.'' 

1-13  193 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

It  was.  however,  the  colonization  of  New  Jersey  which  first 
definitely  engaged  Penn's  activities  in  the  New  World.  The 
Duke  of  York,  in  1664,  immediately  upon  receiving  his  great 
patent  from  Charles,  granted  the  territory  which  is  now  the 
State  of  New  Jersey  to  two  of  his  friends,  John  Lord  Berkeley 
and  Sir  George  Carteret.  The  interests  of  the  two  were  divided 
by  a  line  running  from  the  seashore  northward  into  East  and 
West  New  Jersey.  Carteret  taking  the  former  and  Lord  Berkeley 
the  latter.  Li  March,  1673-4.  Berkeley  sold  his  half  to  John 
Fenwick,  in  trust  for  himself  and  Edward  Byllinge.  Fenwick 
and  Byllinge  were  English  Friends.  Differences  arose  between 
them  as  to  the  measure  of  their  respective  interests  in  the  pur- 
chase, and  the  case  was  referred  to  William  Penn,  who  late  in  the 
year  1674  rendered  his  decision,  by  which  an  undivided  one- 
tenth  of  West  New  Jersey  was,  with  some  money,  given  to  Fen- 
wick, and  the  remaining  nine-tenths  to  Byllinge.  A  little  later 
Byllinge,  who  was  a  merchant  in  London,  became  embarrassed, 
and  made  an  assignment  of  his  interest  to  William  Penn,  Gawen 
Lawrie,  and  Nicholas  Lucas.  Subsequently  other  business  oper- 
ations placed  in  Penn's  hands  a  further  interest  in  this  half  of  the 
New  Jersey  colony.  He  became  thus  a  leader  among  those  who 
were  engaged  in  the  movement  to  settle  West  New  Jersey,  and 
his  hand  is  visible  in  the  several  circular  letters  of  description, 
instruction,  etc.,  drawn  up  at  this  time.  Those  thinking  of  re- 
moval were  cautioned  in  one  circular  of  1676  to  be  deliberate: 
"And  as  we  formerly  writ,  we  cannot  but  repeat  our  request  unto 
you  that  in  whomsoever  a  desire  is  to  be  concerned  in  this  planta- 
tion, such  would  weigh  the  thing  before  the  Lord,  and  not  headily 
or  rashly  conclude  on  any  such  remove." 

Most  important  of  these  documents  was  the  elaborate  one 
drawn  up  in  England,  and  dated  March  3,  1676,  the  "Conces- 
sions and  Agreements  of  the  Proprietors.  Freeholders  and  Inhab- 
itants of  the  Province  of  West  New  Jersey  in  America."  This 
was  signed  by  the  three  assignees  of  Byllinge.  Gawen  Lawrie. 

194 


The   Founder  of  Pennsylvania 

William  Penn.  and  Nicholas  Lucas,  by  Byllinge  himself,  and 
others  in  England,  and — at  a  subsequent  time,  certainly — by 
many  of  those  who  had  settled  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Delaware. 
including  Swedes,  Dutch,  and  English.  This  document  became 
the  charter  and  constitution  for  the  West  Jersey  colony,  and  has 
iiistoric  interest  because  it  contains  features  which  were  subse- 
(|uently  adopted  in  the  framework  of  Pennsylvania.  There  are 
forty-four  chapters,  none  of  them  long.  Provision  is  made  for 
Colonial  Commissioners  by  appointment,^  but  on  Xew-Year's  day, 
March  25,  1680,  such  commissioners,  ten  in  number,  are  to  be 
elected  by  the  people — "the  proprietors,  freeholders  and  inhabit- 
ants resident  upon  the  said  province" — and  annually  thereafter. 
These  commissioners  to  "govern  and  order  the  affairs  of  the  said 
province,  for  the  good  and  welfare  of  the  said  people,"  until  the 
election  of  a  "general  free  assembly."  There  is  to  be  al)solute 
freedom  of  conscience;  it  is  declared  that  "no  men,  nor  number 
of  men,  upon  earth  hath  power  or  authority  to  rule  over  men's 
consciences  in  religious  matters."  There  is  to  be  trial  by  jury, 
and  no  arrest,  attachment,  or  imprisonment  for  debt,  except  after 
due  process  before  a  court  of  judicature.  Trials  are  to  be  public, 
"that  justice  may  not  be  done  in  a  corner,  nor  in  any  covert  man- 
ner." Conveyances  of  land  are  to  be  recorded.  The  estates  of 
suicides  are  not  to  be  forfeited,  but  to  go  to  their  heirs.  Care  is 
to  be  taken  for  justice  to  the  Indians.  Persons  found  guilty  of 
murder  or  high  treason  are  to  be  punished  according  to  the  law 
which  the  general  assembly  may  provide.  This  assembly  to  be 
chosen  on  the  ist  day  of  October  each  year,  one  member  for  each 
of  the  one  hundred  "proprietaries"  into  which  the  province  was  to 
be  divided,  and  to  have  power  to  choose  the  ten  commissioners, 
and  to  pass  laws  not  repugnant  to  the  constitution  now  made. 

'The  first  Commissioners,  members  of  the  John    Kinsey   died   at   Sliackamaxon,   on   his 

Burlington     Colony,     were     Thomas     Olive,  arrival,   in    1677.     His  grandson,  John    Kin- 

Oaniel    Wills,   John    Kinsey,   John    Penford,  sey,  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  in 

Joseph   Helmsley,    Robert   Stacey,    Benjamin  the   Pennsylvania   Colony  for  many  years — 

Scott,    Thomas    Fulke,    and    Richard    Guy.  Speaker  01  the  Assembly  and  Chief  Justice. 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

Each  member  of  the  assembly  to  have  one  shilling  per  day,  "that 
thereby  he  may  be  known  to  be  the  servant  of  the  people." 

Earlier  even  than  the  preparation  of  this  fundamental  law, 
the  English  occupancy  of  the  east  side  of  the  Delaware  had  be- 
gun. In  1675,  John  Fenwick,  to  whom  the  conveyance  by  Berke- 
ley had  first  been  made,  began  the  movement.  He  brought  over 
a  company  of. English  colonists,  mostly  Friends,  in  the  ship  Grif- 
fith. Ascending  the  river,  they  chose  a  place  on  the  stream  now 
called  Salem  creek,  and  named  their  town  Salem.  Near  by  was 
the  site  of  the  Swedish  fort,  Elfsborg,  which  the  Dutch — and  the 
mosquitoes — had  broken  up,  thirty  years  before. 

Next  to  that  at  Salem  was  the  settlement  at  Burlington.  The 
story  of  the  coming  of  its  first  settlers  is  one  of  exceptional  inter- 
est, and  has  been  eloquently  told,  but  it  belongs,  of  course,  to  the 
history  of  New  Jersey.  The  Burlington  company,  about  two 
hundred  and  thirty  in  number,  in  the  ship  Kent,  left  the  Thames 
early  in  1677,  ^"^  reached  the  Delaware  in  the  middle  of  August, 
having  touched  at  New  York  to  exhibit  to  Gov.  Andros  their 
right  of  settlement.  They  landed  at  Raccoon  creek,  near  Salem, 
and  decided,  after  some  hesitation,  to  go  farther  up  the  river, 
choosing  the  place  called  Jegou's  island,  a  part  practically  of  the 
mainland,  and  near  the  island  familiar  to  our  narrative  as  Matin- 
neconck.  At  Jegou's,  therefore,  they  began  to  build,  and  Bur- 
lington thus  became  the  first  place  of  note  upon  the  Delaware, 
above  New  Castle.  Philadelphia  was  yet  unthought  of,  unless 
by  William  Penn,  and  its  shore  line  of  primeval  forest  stood 
practically  unbroken.  In  the  following  year,  1678,  when  the  ship 
Shield,  with  another  party  of  settlers  for  Burlington,  sailed  by 
the  Indian  place  called  Coaquanock,  about  the  center  of  the  pres- 
ent water  front  of  Philadelphia,  the  vessel  came  close  in,  and  in 
tacking  her  yards  reached  the  branches  of  the  trees  that  grew  by 
the  edge.  And  then  some  one  on  board,  unaware  what  three 
years  would  bring  forth,  but  seeing  the  attractions  of  the  spot,, 
called  out,  "Here  is  a  fine  plaee  for  a  tozvn!" 

196 


PENSYLVl.. 

AMERICtE 

i  3n  t)e>;  QBc|!  /  "Belt  gclegcn  / 

TRANCISCUM    DANIELEM 

/  PASTORIUM, 

J.  V»  Lie.  unD5riet)cne^>D^i0tecn 
jpafelbl^en. 

^otbei)  onge^encfet  finb  m^ 

ge  notable  Sc9el)ent)eiten  /  unD 

53cric&t^@c6ceibert  an  DcfTcR  ^txixi 

Pattern 

MELCHIOREM  ADAMUM  PASTO- 

RIU.M, 

UnDanbcccguteSreunftc. 


if 


3utinl)cn  l)ci)  2{nDrea6  ^tto.  170 

Title  pageui  Gcrnuui  book  to  induce  Ininiigralioii  to  Pennsylvania 

From  original  in  Collection  of  Historical 
Soci.-ty  of  Pennsylvania 


The  Founder  of  Pennsylvania 

Tlie  ex])erience  gained  by  his  connection  with  the  Xew  Jersey 
colony,  the  intense  desire  of  many  of  the  T'riends  in  England  for 
a  home  where  they  might  live  in  peace,  the  report  of  George  Fox 
that  the  land  was  good,  and  that  sent  by  Josiah  Cole  and  others 
that  the  Indians  were  friendly  if  well  used  put  into  the  mind  of 
William  Penn  the  larger  plan  which  he  was  presently  able  to  exe- 
cute. Meanwhile,  in  1677,  he  made  an  extended  religious  visit 
to  Holland  and  the  Rhine  country,  which  must  be  mentioned 
here,  for  it  bore  important  fruit  later.  In  July  of  that  year,  ac- 
companied by  George  Fox,  Robert  Barclay,  George  Keith,  and 
others,  he  crossed  to  Holland,  and  from  Amsterdam  went  to  visit 
the  Princess  Elizabeth — niece  of  Charles  I.,  cousin  of  Charles  XL 
and  James  II. — at  Herford,  in  Westphalia ;  thence  proceeded  to 
Frankfort-on-the-Main,  and  its  neighborhood,  and  then  passed 
down  the  Rhine  to  Holland  again,  visiting  on  the  way  German 
towns  and  cities  east  of  the  great  river.  From  the  acquaintances 
and  friendships  formed  on  this  journey  came  in  no  small  measure 
the  flood  of  German  migration  which  colonized  an  important  part 
of  Pennsylvania  between  1683  and  1750,  and  fixed  upon  it  an  in- 
delible Teutonic  stamp. 

The  application  of  William  Penn  to  Cliarles  II.  for  a  grant 
of  land  in  America  was  presented  early  in  the  year  1680,  probably 
in  the  month  of  May.  Penn  based  his  petition  upon  losses  his 
father  had  sustained  in  Ireland,  in  the  service  of  the  King, 
amounting  to  eleven  thousand  pounds,  with  interest,  and  asked 
for  a  tract  north  of  ^Maryland,  bounded  east  by  the  Delaware, 
westward  "as  ^Maryland,"  and  northward  "as  far  as  plantable." 
The  business  thus  begun  was  under  consideration  for  nearly  a 
year.  It  was  transferred  to  the  "Lords  Commissioners  for  Trade 
and  Plantations,"  who  had  been  constituted  by  the  King  a  com- 
mittee on  such  matters,  and  in  their  hands  it  remained  until  the 
charter  was  actually  drawn  and  ready  for  the  royal  signature. 

The  several  steps  may  be  briefly  outlined.  The  Earl  of  Sun- 
derland, Secretary  of  State.  June  i,   1680.  referred  the  petition 

199 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 


to  the  Commissioners.  June  14.  they  gave  Penn  a  hearing, 
learned  that  he  would  be  satisfied  with  three  degrees  northward 
from  Maryland,  and  ordered  copies  of  his  petition  sent  to  Sir 
John  Werden,  secretary  to  the  Duke  of  York,  and  to  the  agents 
of  Lord  Baltimore.  June  25,  letters  from  Sir  John  Werden  and 
Lord  Bahimore's  agents  were  read ;  the  former  cautiously  dis- 


Great  Seal  of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania,   1712 — obverse 

cussed  the  matter,  suggesting  that  the  grant  as  asked  for  would 
apparently  cover  "that  colony  or  plantation  .  .  ,  held  as  an  ap- 
pendix ...  of  the  Government  of  New  York  by  the  name  of 
Delaware  Colony,"  and  governed  by  the  Duke's  deputies;  Lord 
Baltimore's  agents  expressed  no  particular  opposition,  provided 
the  southern  limit  of  the  grant  were  drawn  through  "the  Susque- 
hanna Fort;"  "that  fort,"  they  said,  "is  the  boundary  of  Mary- 
land northward." 

Penn  was  called  before  the  Commissioners  on  the  23d  of 
June,  and  told  he  must  arrange  matters  with  the  Duke  of  York 
for  an  adjustment    of    "their   respective   pretensions."       He  in- 

200 


The  Founder  of  Pennsylvania 


formed  them  he  would  be  satisfied  to  take  the  "Susquehanna 
Fort"  as  his  southern  hmit.  October  i6,  a  letter  from  Sir  John 
Werden  was  received,  saying  Penn  had  obtained  the  approval  of 
the  Duke,  and  the  latter  commanded  him  to  say  that  he  was  "very 
willing  ^Ir.  Penn's  request"  should  "meet  with  success" — that  he 
should  be  granted  "that  tract  of  land  which  lies  on  the  north  of 


Great  Seal  of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania.  1712 — reverse 

Newcastle  colony,  and  on  the  west  side  of  Delaware  river,  begin- 
ning about  the  latitude  of  40  degrees,  and  extending  northward 
and  westward  as  far  as  his  Majesty  pleaseth." 

The  way  was  thus  fairly  cleared,  but  many  steps  remained  to 
be  taken.  November  4,  Penn  presented  to  the  Commissioners 
the  draft  which  he  proposed  for  his  patent,  and  it  was  referred  to 
the  Attorney-General,  Sir  William  Jones;  it  was  also  ordered  that 
Lord  Baltimore's  agents  "have  a  sight"  of  it.  November  11,  the 
Attorney-General  presented  his  "Observations"  upon  the  draft. 
He  had  not  found,  he  said,  that  it  would  "appear  to  entrench 
upon  the  boundaries  of  Lord  Baltimore's  province,  nor  those  of 

201 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

New  York,  so  that  the  tract  of  land  desired  by  Mr.  Penn  seems 
to  be  undisposed  of  by  liis  ^Majesty :  except  the  imaginary  Hnes 
of  New  England  patents,  which  arc  l)ounded  westwardly  by  the 
main  ocean,  should  give  them  a  real,  though  impracticable  right 
to  all  those  vast  territories."  In  December,  North,  the  Lord 
Chief  Justice,  submitted  a  "settlement  of  the  boundaries"  to  the 
revision  of  Sir  John  Werden,  in  the  interest  of  the  Duke  of  York. 

January  15  (1680-81),  the  Commissioners  read  and  aj)- 
proved  the  boundaries  as  they  had  now  been  drawn,  and  appoint- 
ed "Wednesday  next,  at  Nine  in  the  Morning,  to  review  the  whole 
Patent."  On  the  226.  of  the  same  month  the  minutes  of  the 
Commissioners  state:  "Upon  reading  the  Draught  of  a  patent 
for  Mr.  Pen,  constituting  him  absolute  proprietary  of  a  Tract  of 
Land  in  America  Northerly  of  Maryland,  The  Lords  of  the 
Committee  desire  My  Lord  Chief  Justice  North  to  take  the  said 
patent  into  his  consideration  and  to  provide,  by  fit  clauses  therein 
that  all  Acts  of  Sovereignty  as  to  peace  and  Warr  be  reserved 
unto  the  King,  and  that  all  Acts  of  Parliament  concerning 
Trade  and  Navigation  and  his  Matie's  Customs  bee  duly  ob- 
served. And  in  general  that  the  patent  bee  soe  drawn  that  it 
may  consist  with  the  King's  interest  and  service  and  give  suffi- 
cient encouragement  to  planters  to  settle  under  it.  A  paper  be- 
ing alsoe  read  wherein  my  Lord  Bishop  of  London  desires  that 
Mr.  Pen  bee  obliged  by  his  patent  to  admit  a  Chaplain  of  his 
Lord's  appcintment  upon  the  request  of  any  number  of  planters, 
the  same  is  also  referred  to  My  Lord  Chief  Justice  North." 

February  24,  the  Commissioners  once  more  read  the  draft 
of  the  Patent,  "and  there  being  a  blank  left  for  the  name,"  agreed 
"to  leave  the  nomination  of  it  to  the  King."  "The  Lord  Bishop 
of  London,"  the  minutes  add,  "is  desired  to  prepare  the  draught 
of  a  Law  to  be  passed  in  this  Country  [the  new  Colony]  for  the 
settling  of  the  Protestant  religion." 

The  patent  of  William  Penn  for  the  region  which  is  now 
Pennsylvania  was  thus  originated,  developed,  and  perfected.       It 

202 


The  Founder  of  Pennsylvania 

bears  on  its  face  the  statement  that  it  was  passed,  "by  Writt  of 
Privy  Seale."  It  was  approved  by  the  King  on  the  4th  of 
March,  1680-81,  and  the  "great  seal"  was  affixed,  apparently,  the 
next  day.  A  letter  of  William  Penn  to  his  friend  Robert  Tur- 
ner, a  merchant  of  Dublin,  afterward  extensively  engaged  in  the 
settlement  of  Pennsylvania,  materially  enlarges  our  knowledge 
of  the  transaction  : 

"5th  of  1st  mo.,  1681. 

"...  Thine  I  have,  and  for  my  business  here,  know 
that  after  many  waitings,  watchings,  solicitings,  and  disputes  in 
council,  this  day  my  country  was  confirmed  to  me  under  the  great 
seal  of  England,  with  large  powers  and  privileges,  by  the  name 
of  Pennsylvania;  a  name  the  King  would  give  it  in  honor  of  my 
father.  I  chose  Xew  Wales,  being,  as  this,  a  pretty  hilly  coun- 
try, but  Penn  being  Welsh  for  a  head,  as  Penmanmoire  in  Wales, 
and  Penrith  in  Cumberland,  and  Penn  in  Buckinghamshire,  the 
highest  land  in  England,  called  this  Pennsylvania,  which  is  the 
high  or  head  woodlands ;  for  I  proposed,  when  the  Secretary,  a 
Welshman,  refused  to  have  it  called  New  Wales,  Sylvania,  and 
they  added  Poin  to  it;  and  although  I  much  opposed  it,  and  went 
to  the  King  to  have  it  struck  out  and  altered,  he  said  it  was  past, 
and  would  take  it  upon  him ;  nor  would  twenty  guineas  move  the 
under  Secretary  to  vary  the  name;  for  I  feared  lest  it  should  be 
looked  on  as  a  vanity  in  me,  and  not  as  a  respect  in  the  King,  as 
it  truly  was,  to  my  father,  whom  he  often  mentions  with  praise. 
Thou  mayest  communicate  my  grant  to  Friends,  and  expect 
shortly  my  proposals.  It  is  a  clear  and  just  thing,  and  my  God 
that  has  given  it  me  through  many  difiiculties  will,  I  believe,  bless 
and  make  it  the  seed  of  a  nation.  I  shall  have  a  tender  care  to 
the  government,  that  it  be  well  laid  at  first." 

The  charter  of  Pennsylvania  is  one  of  several  "proprietary" 
grants  in  America  by  English  kings.  It  gave  to  William  Penn 
large  powers,  yet  somewhat  less  complete  than  those  given  to 
Lord  Baltimore,  by  Charles  I.,  in  1632.       In    the    latter   grant, 

203 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

laws  passed  by  the  Assembly  and  confirmed  by  the  Proprietary 
were  valid,  but  in  Pennsylvania  they  required  to  be  submitted  to 
the  crown.  In  the  Maryland  charter  it  was  provided  that  the 
crown,  and  by  inference  Parliament,  should  impose  no  taxes 
within  the  province,  but  in  that  of  Pennsylvania  the  right  of  Par- 
liamentary taxation  was  expressly  reserved.  These  were  limita- 
tions, very  probably,  which  Lord  Chief  Justice  North  had  insert- 
ed in  pursuance  of  the  minute  of  the  Commissioners  to  draw  the 
patent  so  as  to  guard  the  royal  interests. 

The  object  of  William  Penn  in  securing  this  great  grant, 
perhaps  the  most  valuable  which  any  monarch  ever  assumed  to 
confer,  need  cause  no  extended  speculation.  Two  principal  mo- 
tives impelled  him — the  desire  to  found  a  free  commonwealth 
on  liberal  and  humane  principles,  and  the  desire,  also,  to  provide 
a  safe  home  for  the  persecuted  Friends.  We  shall  be  safe  if  we 
say  that  these  motives  had  equal  weight  in  his  mind ;  he  was 
strongly  devoted  to  his  religious  faith,  and  warmly  attached  to 
those  who  professed  it,  but  not  less  was  he  an  idealist  in  politics, 
and  a  generous  and  hopeful  believer  in  the  average  goodness  of 
his  fellow  men.  His  own  statements,  many  times  made,  clearly 
present  his  views  and  explain  his  motives.  One  of  his  first  acts, 
on  receiving  the  patent,  was  to  prepare  a  letter  to  the  settlers  who 
were  already  in  Pennsylvania.  It  is  dated  April  8,  1681,  and 
has  the  special  merit  of  brevity,  running  as  follows : 

"My  friends — I  wish  you  all  happiness,  here  and  hereafter. 
These  are  to  let  you  know  that  it  hath  pleased  God,  in  his  provi- 
dence, to  cast  you  within  my  lot  and  care.  It  is  a  business  that, 
though  I  never  undertook  before,  yet  God  has  given  me  an  under- 
standing of  my  duty,  and  an  honest  mind  to  do  it  uprightly.  I 
hope  you  will  not  be  troubled  at  your  change,  and  the  king's 
choice,  for  you  are  now  fixed  at  the  mercy  of  no  governor  that 
comes  to  make  his  fortune  great;  you  shall  be  governed  by  laws 
of  your  own  making,  and  live  a  free,  and,  if  you  will,  a  sober  and 
industrious  people.       I  shall  not  usurp  the  right  of  any,  or  op- 

204 


Anne 


Queen  of   England,    1702-1714 


The   Founder  of   Pennsylvania 

press  his  person.  God  has  furnished  me  with  a  better  resohi- 
tion,  and  has  given  me  his  grace  to  keep  it.  In  short,  whatever 
sober  and  free  men  can  reasonably  desire  for  the  security  and  im- 
provement of  their  own  happiness  I  shall  heartily  comply  with, 
and  in  five  months  resolve,  if  it  please  God,  to  see  you.  In  the 
meantime,  pray  submit  to  the  commands  of  my  deputy,  so  far 
as  they  are  consistent  with  the  law,  and  pay  him  those  dues  (that 
formerly  you  paid  to  the  order  of  the  governor  of  New  York), 
for  my  use  and  benefit,  and  so  I  beseech  God  to  direct  you  in  the 
way  of  righteousness,  and  therein  prosper  you  and  your  children 
after  you.     ...     " 

"For  the  matters  of  liberty  and  privilege,"  he  wrote.  April  12. 
to  Robert  Turner  and  others,  "I  propose  that  which  is  extraor- 
dinary, and  to  leave  myself  and  successors  no  power  of  doing 
mischief,  that  the  will  of  one  man  may  not  hinder  the  good  of  an 
whole  country." 

A  few  weeks  later  he  wrote  to  James  Harrison,  and  used 
an  expression  which  has  remained  conspicuous  in  the  history  of 
his  colony.  Speaking  of  the  grant  b}-  the  king,  he  said  :  "I  eyed 
the  Lord  in  obtaining  it,  and  more  was  I  drawn  inward  to  look 
to  him,  and  to  owe  it  tu  his  hand  and  power  than  to  any  other 
way.  I  have  so  obtained  it,  and  desire  to  keep  it  that  I  may  not 
be  unworthy  of  his  love,  Ijut  do  that  which  may  answer  his  kind 
providence,  and  ser\e  his  truth  and  people,  that  an  example  may 
be  set  to  the  nations.  There  may  be  room  there,  but  not  here. 
for  sucJi  an  Jioly  experiment." 

The  political  conditions  in  England  at  the  time  Penn  obtained 
the  Charter  can  hardly  be  passed  over  in  this  connection,  though 
they  usually  ha\-e  been  ignored  in  the  history  of  Pennsylvania.  It 
was  the  period  precisely  of  the  struggle  of  Charles  I.  with  the 
popular  party  in  Parliament,  the  "Whigs"  as  they  began  to  be 
called,  headed  by  Lord  Shaftesbury.  This  struggle,  in  which 
the  "Exclusion  Act,"  designed  to  cut  the  Duke  of  York  out  of  the 
succession  to  the  throne,  was  for  the  time  the  pith  and  substance, 

207 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

had  begun  most  earnestly  in  1679,  a  few  months  before  Penn  pre- 
sented his  petition,  and  ended  in  March,  1680-81,  less  than  a 
month  after  the  charter  was  granted. 

The  Catholic  religion  of  the  Duke  caused  the  contest.  More 
candid  than  Charles,  who  dissembled  till  his  death-bed,  James 
avowed  his  adhesion  to  Rome  in  1670,  and  in  1673  ^^^^  ^or  his 
second  wife  a  Catholic  princess,  Mary  of  Modena.  In  the  same 
year  (1673),  ^^^  passage  of  the  "Test  Act"  by  Parliament,  re- 
quiring all  holding  office  to  subscribe  an  oath  repugnant  to  the 
Roman  church,  compelled  him  to  resign  his  place  as  Lord  High 
Admiral,  and  in  1679  the  heat  of  the  controversy  had  become  so 
great  that  he  was  obliged  to  quit  England.  He  went  first  to  the 
Continent  and  then  to  Scotland,  where  he  remained,  practically 
in  exile,  though  holding  the  place  of  "High  Commissioner,"  until 
the  spring  of  1682.  He  feared  impeachment,  and  Charles  did 
not  dare  to  give  him  a  pardon  in  advance  which  would  safeguard 
his  remaining  in  England. 

It  was  thus  that  Penn  plucked  the  charter  of  Pennsylvania. 
When  the  King  went  down  to  Oxford  to  meet  the  Parliament, 
shortly  after  signing  the  charter,  the  old  university  town,  so  long 
identified  with  the  Stuart  cause,  was  occupied  with  armed  men, 
partisans  of  both  sides,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  fires  of  another  civil 
war  might  be  kindling.  But  Charles  dissolved  the  Parliament, 
after  but  seven  days  of  life,  and  Shaftesbury's  followers  dared  not 
take  up  the  challenge.  The  King  won  for  the  time,  and  it  was  left  for 
William  of  Orange,  six  years  later,  to  resume  the  Whig  program. 

That  a  commoner  like  Penn  should  have  received  so  great  a 
grant  amid  such  heats  and  complications  is  a  curious  passage  in 
history.  He  was  no  lover  of  "prerogative,"  but  an  advocate  and 
organizer  of  popular  government;  he  was  no  supporter  of  the 
Court  party,  but  a  friend  and  associate  of  men  like  Algernon  Sid- 
ney; he  was  not  a  Catholic,  but  a  Protestant  of  a  strict  sect;  he 
was  no  loose  moralist,  to  figure  in  the  memoirs  of  De  Grammont, 
but  a  man  of  clean  life  both  by  principle  and  habit. 

208 


The  Founder  of  Pennsvlvania 


We  shall  find  the  reason  of  his  success — not  easily  won,  as  his 
letter  to  Rohert  Turner  discloses — in  a  few  simple  explanations. 
It  was  the  settled  policy  of  England  to  strengthen  her  colonies  in 
America,  and  for  this  work  Penn  had  shown  large  ability  in  the 
planting  of  New  Jersey.  He  was  "a  born  leader  of  men,"  and 
could  call  out  of  England,  Wales,  and  Germany,  as  a  few  years 


Seal  of  Register-General's  office 

proved,  tens  of  thousands  of  colonists  who  when  they  had  settled 
stayed.  For  the  Friends  in  their  persecutions  Charles  had  at 
least  compassion,  as  his  action  toward  them  more  than  once  dis- 
played. The  old  claims  of  Admiral  Penn,  the  so-called  debt, 
gave  some  support,  if  but  slight — for  certainly  Charles  was  not 
one  to  worry  over  old  debts — to  the  application.  Moreover,  the 
status  of  the  settlements  west  of  the  Delaware,  north  of  Lord  Bal- 
timore's colony,  had  been  clouded  by  doubt  from  the  day  of  Sir 
Robert  Carr's  capture  of  New  Amstel,  and  even  earlier,  and  a 
royal  grant  was  desirable  to  clear  up  the  situation. 

That  the  Duke  of  York  was  the  friend  of  the  Penns.  father 
and  son,  may  be  here  explicitly  owned.       As  James  the  Second, 


I— 14 


209 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

last  of  the  Stnart  line  on  the  English  throne,  he  has  passed  into 
history  with  many  severe  judgments  upon  his  head.  Deserved 
as  all  these  may  he,  or  some  may  not,  the  fact  remains  that  his  at- 
tachment to  the  Admiral  and  to  William  Penn  implied  no  dis- 
honor either  to  him  or  them.  The  Admiral  had  been  the  Duke's 
supporter  and  companion  for  years  in  the  naval  wars  of  England, 
and  on  his  death-bed  he  had  asked  him  to  remember  kindly  his 
son,  whose  Quaker  convictions  were  only  too  likely  to  bring  him 
into  trouble.  That  the  Duke  continued  friendly  to  the  son,  as 
he  had  been  to  the  father,  can  certainly  be  no  cause  for  reproach. 

No  time  w^as  lost  by  the  new  Proprietary.  His  plans,  no 
doubt,  had  been  thought  over  and  matured  in  the  period  of  "wait- 
ings, watchings,  and  solicitings."  April  2  (1681),  he  obtained 
from  the  King  an  order  to  those  who  were  settled  within  Penn- 
sylvania "to  yield  all  due  obedience"  to  their  new  Governor.  He 
had  already  selected  his  cousin  William  Markham  to  be  his 
deputy-governor,  and  he  drew  up  for  him  (April  8)  a  series  of 
instructions  relating  to  the  sale  of  land,  etc.,  and  (April  10)  gave 
him  his  commission,  authorizing  him  to  appoint  a  Council  of  nine 
persons,  proclaim  the  King's  order,  give  the  letter  to  the  settlers, 
adjust  boundaries  with  adjoining  colonies,  establish  courts,  ap- 
point officers,  and  in  general  set  the  machinery  of  government  in 
motion.  Markham  must  have  left  England  soon  after,  for  he 
had  landed  in  America,  probably  at  Boston,  and  had  reached 
New  York,  before  the  21st  of  June. 

Penn's  anticipation  that  he  would  himself  reach  Pennsylvania 
in  five  months  after  the  date  of  his  letter  to  the  settlers  (April  8), 
could  not  be  realized.  He  was  detained  in  England  almost  a  year 
and  a  half.  The  time  was  occupied  with  active  work  for  the 
new  province.  His  pen  w^as  busy.  He  was  planning  and  or- 
ganizing. He  drew  up  an  important  pamphlet,  "Some  Account  of 
the  Province  of  Pennsylvania,"  which  was  first  published  in  Eng- 
lish, and  which  Benjamin  Furly,  a  rich  merchant  of  Rotterdam 
who  had  been  one  of  the   company   with    Penn   on   the  Rhenish 

210 


The  Founder  of  Pennsylvania 

journey  of  1677,  spread  wide  in  translations  into  Dutch,  German, 
and  French.^  It  is,  in  purpose,  an  advertisement,  but  in  style 
and  content  almost  a  contribution  to  English  literature,  present- 
ing many  interesting  descriptive  details,  with  economic,  social, 
and  political  observations  and  suggestions,  all  in  Penn's  charac- 
teristic manner.  He  analyzes  the  condition  of  the  people  of 
England,  and  explains  why  they  may  better  themselves  in  a  new 
country.  He  describes  Pennsylvania,  which  "lies  six  hundred 
miles  nearer  the  sun  than  England,"  and  whose  summer  is  longer 
and  warmer,  but  which  has,  notwithstanding,  a  colder  winter.  He 
classifies  the  kinds  of  people,  whom  "Providence  seems  to  have 
most  fitted  for  plantations" — "industrious  husbandmen  and  day- 
laborers,"  who  with  the  greatest  industry  are  barely  able  to  get 
on;  sundry  mechanics,  "especially  carpenters,  masons,  smiths, 
weavers,  tailors,  tanners,  shoemakers,  shipwrights,  etc.,"  "in- 
genious spirits,  that  being  low  in  the  world,  are  much  clogged 
and  oppressed  about  a  livelihood;"  "younger  brothers  of  small 
inheritances;"  and  lastly,  "men  of  universal  spirits,  that  have  an 
eye  to  the  good  of  posterity,  and  that  both  understand  and  delight 
to  promote  good  discipline  and  just  government  among  a  plain 
and  well-intending  people."  He  states  his  terms  for  the  sale  of 
land.  He  will  sell  in  "shares"  of  five  thousand  acres,  free  of  In- 
dian claims,  for  a  hundred  pounds  purchase  money,  and  an  an- 
nual quit-rent  of  one  shilling  for  each  one  hundred  acres.  Renters 
may  have  land  at  a  shilling  an  acre,  and  for  each  "servant"  taken 
over,  the  masters  shall  be  allowed  fifty  acres,  with  an  equal  quan- 
tity to  the  servant  when  his  time  is  out. 

•Benjamin  Furly  was  a  notable  figure   in  ions  and  plans,   including  John   Locke.   Al- 

connection   with   the   early   Dutch   and   Ger-  gernon  Sidney,  and  the  first  Lord  Shaftes- 

man    movement    to    Pennsylvania.     He    was  bury.     He   affiliated   with   the   Friends,   and 

born   in    England   in    1636,   went  to   Amster-  aided    and    entertained    them,    but    probably 

dam,  and  settled  later  in   Rotterdam,  where  did  not  always  regard  himself  as  one  of  the 

he   married,  and  became  one  of  the   leading  Society.     He  died  in   March,   I7i4.  and  w^s 

merchants.     He  wrote  learnedly,  had  a  col-  buried    in    the    Groote    Kerk    at    Rotterdam, 

lection    of    "at    least    4,000"    books,    was    a  (See    article    on    B.    F.,    by    J.    F.    Sachse, 

linguist,  and  a  student.     His  house  was  the  "Penna.    Mag.,"    Vol.    XIX.) 
gathering  place   for  men  of  advanced  opin-. 

21  I 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

Two  papers  of  importance  for  the  time  in  connection  with  the 
establishment  of  the  Colony,  were  prepared  later.  These  were : 
(i)  "Certain  Conditions  and  Concessions  agreed  upon  by  Wil- 
liam Penn  .  .  .  and  those  who  are  the  adventurers  and' pur- 
chasers in  the  said  Province;"  and  (2)  "The  Frame  of  the  Gov- 


Home  of  John  Harris,  the  Indian  Trader 

Built  prior  to  1718.  Redrawn  especially  for 
this  work  from  a  photographic  reproduction  of 
an  oil  painting.  By  courtesy  Historical  Society 
of   Dauphin   County,   Pennsylvania. 

ernment  of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania  in  America."  The 
first  of  these  papers  is  dated  July  1 1,  1681,  and  covers  some  of  the 
same  ground  as  to  sales  of  land,  etc.,  which  had  been  dealt  with 
in  the  "Some  Account."  It  may  be  regarded  as  a  form  of  con- 
tract between  Penn  and  those  who  were  supporting  him  in  his 
enterprise.  It  is  signed  first  by  Penn  himself,  and  then  by  thir- 
teen others,  few  of  whom  became  prominent  in  the  settlement  of 
Pennsvlvania. 


212 


George  I. 


King  of  England,   1714-1727 


The   Founder  of   Pennsylvania 

The  "Frame  of  Government"  was  a  more  important  docu- 
ment. It  was  not  prepared  until  some  time  later,  and  bears 
date  April  25,  1682.  It  has  a  preface,  signed  by  Penn,  present- 
ing general  propositions  as  to  government,  followed  by  twenty- 
four  specific  provisions,  the  spirit  of  which  had  already  been  sug- 
gested in  the  "Concessions  and  Agreements"  of  West  New  Jer- 
sey, drawn  up  six  years  earlier,  and  already  referred  to.  There 
are  passages,  however,  in  this  first  constitution  of  Pennsylvania, 
which  are  of  permanent  interest,  as  showing  clearly  the  founda- 
tion on  which  Penn  desired  the  commonwealth  should  be  built, 
and  from  which,  in  fact,  inspiration  and  suggestion  have  been 
drawn  since  his  day.  These  sentences,  from  the  Preface,  may  be 
cited : 

"Governments  rather  depend  iipon  men  than  men  upon  gov- 
ernments; let  men  he  good  and  the  government  cannot  he  had;  if 
it  he  ill  they  zcill  cure  it  .  .  .  tJwtigh  good  laws  do  zvell,  good 
men  do  hetter;  for  good  lazvs  may  n'ant^  good  men,  and  he  ahol- 
ished  or  evaded  hy  ill  men;  hut  good  men  zuill  never  zvant  good 
lazes  nor  suffer  ill  ones.  .  .  That,  tJicrefore,  zchicli  makes  a 
good  constitution  must  keep  it,  viz.,  men  of  zvisdoni  and  virtnie, 
qualities  that,  hecause  tJiey  descend  not  zvith  zvorldly  inheritances, 
must  be  carefully  propagated  hy  a  virtuous  education  of  youth. 
For  liherty  zvithout  ohedience  is  confusion,  and  ohedience 
zvitliout  liherty  is  slavery." 

A  little  later  than  the  "Frame."  there  was  prepared  an  outline 
of  statutory  enactments,  "Laws  Agreed  Upon  in  England  by  the 
Governor  and  Divers  Freemen  of  the  aforesaid  Province."  There 
are  forty  numbered  paragraphs  under  this  heading,  and  the  sub- 
stance of  them  was  enacted  by  the  first  and  second  Assemblies 
of  the  Province,  which  met  after  Penn's  arrival.  These  "Laws 
Agreed  upon  in  England"  are  dated  May  3,  1682. 

All  these  papers  are,  of  course,  the  expression  of  Penn's  own 
principles  and  plans.       Whoever  else  may  have  had  a  hand  in 

'"Want"  is  used  in  the  old   sense — lack. 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

their  preparation,  by  counsel  or  criticism,  the  substance  of  them 
is  characteristically  his.  Probably  no  man  ever  enjoyed  more 
the  preparation  of  such  constitutions  than  did  he,  and  confidently 
it  may  be  added  that  no  period  of  his  experience  with  Pennsyl- 
vania v^as  happier  than  this  in  which  he  was  planning  for  the  fu- 
ture welfare  of  its  people.  His  expectations  were  not  Utopian ; 
his  mind  was  very  practical,  and  he  had  had  enough  experience 
with  men  to  distinguish  between  the  feasible  and  the  visionary 
in  public  affairs ;  so  that  Pennsylvania  in  the  long  run  realized  in 
fair  degree  the  hopes  he  entertained  for  her,  and  in  every  experi- 
ence of  her  more  than  two  centuries  has  never  had  a  better  guide 
or  chart  than  those  found  in  the  writings  of  her  Founder.  "This 
is  the  praise  of  William  Penn,"  says  Bancroft,  "that  in  an  age 
which  had  seen  a  popular  revolution  shipwreck  popular  liberty 
among  selfish  factions,  which  had  seen  Hugh  Peter  and  Henry 
Vane  perish  by  the  hangman's  cord  and  the  axe;  in  an  age  when 
Sidney  nourished  the  pride  of  patriotism  rather  than  the  senti- 
ment of  philanthropy,  when  Russell  stood  for  the  liberties  of  his 
order  and  not  for  new  enfranchisements,  when  Harrington  and 
Shaftesbury  and  Locke  thought  government  should  rest  upon 
property — he  did  not  despair  of  humanity,  and  though  all  history 
and  experience  denied  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  dared  to 
cherish  the  noble  idea  of  man's  capacity  for  self-government,  and 
right  to  it." 

In  the  midst  of  his  larger  plans,  matters  of  business  detail 
pressed  for  settlement.  The  Indian  trade  looked  attractive  to 
certain  parties,  who  offered  him  a  large  sum  for  a  monopoly  of 
it.  Writing  to  Robert  Turner,  August  25,  1681,  he  says:  "I 
did  refuse  a  great  temptation  last  Second-day,  which  was  six 
thousand  pounds,  and  pay  the  Indians  [i.  e.,  extinguish  the  In- 
dian claims]  for  six  shares  [30,000  acres]  and  make  the  pur- 
chasers a  company,  to  have  wholly  to  itself  the  Indian  trade  from 
south  to  north,  between  the  Susquehanna  and  Delaware  rivers, 
paying  me  two  and  a  half  per  cent,  acknowledgment  or  rent ;  but 

216 


The  Founder  of  Pennsylvania 

as  the  Lord  gave  it  me  over  all  and  great  opposition  ...  I 
would  not     .     .     .     defile  what  came  to  me  clean." 

The  plans  which  Penn  had  formed  in  regard  to  the  sale  of 
land,  with  the  quit-rent  feature,  are  explained  in  his  letter  to 
James  Harrison,  August  25  (1681),  already  quoted  from.  He 
says : 

"Now,  dear  James,  for  the  fifty  acres  a  servant  to  the  master, 
and  fifty  to  the  servant.  This  is  done  for  their  sakes  that  can't 
buy ;  for  I  must  either  be  paid  by  purchase  or  rent,  that  is,  those 
that  can't  buy  may  take  up,  if  a  master  of  a  family,  200  acres  at  a 
penny  an  acre  [rent],  afterwards  50  acres  a  head  for  every  man 
and  maid  servant,  but  still  at  same  rent,  else  none  would  buy  or 
rent  .  .  .  however  to  encourage  poor  servants  to  go  and 
be  laborious,  I  have  abated  the  id.  to  ^(/.  per  acre,  when 
they  are  out  of  their  time.  .  .  For  those  that  can't  pay  their 
passage,  let  me  know  their  names,  number,  and  ages;  they  must 
pay  double  rent  to  those  that  help  them  over.  But  this  know 
that  this  rent  is  never  to  be  raised,  and  they  are  to  enjoy  it  [pos- 
session of  the  land]  forever.  For  the  acre  it  is  the  common 
statute  acre  by  our  law  allowed.  So,  dear  James,  thou  mayst  let 
me  hear  of  thee,  and  how  things  incline.  I  shall  persuade  none ; 
'tis  a  good  country,  zvith  a  good  conscience  it  zcill  do  zvell.  A 
ship  goes  with  commissioners  suddenly,  in  five  weeks,  to  lay  out 
the  first  and  best  land  to  the  first  adventurers.  .  .  I  clear  the 
king's  and  Indian  title ;  the  purchaser  pays  the  scrivener  and  sur- 
veyor. I  sign  the  deeds  at  Thomas  Rudyard's^  when  I  know 
who  and  what." 

The  commissioners  mentioned  by  Penn,  as  soon  to  sail,  were 
William  Crispin,  John  Bezar,  and  Nathaniel  Allen.  They  re- 
ceived a  series  of  "Instructions"  from  Penn,  dated  September 
30,  1 68 1,  seventeen  in  number,  twelve  of    which    relate    to    the 

^Thomas  Rudyard  was  a  lawyer  in   Lon-  Penn,  arriving  there   in   November   of   that 

don.     He     was     appointed,     in     September,  year.     He  was  succeeded  by  Gawen  Lawrie 

1682,  deputy-governor  of  East  New  Jersey,  in  1684.     For  a  short  time  he  was  Attorney- 

and    came    over    about    the    same    time    as  General  of  New  York.     He  died  in  1692. 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

choice  of  a  site  for  the  intended  "j^reat  town"  and  its  laying  out, 
one  of  these  containing  the  since  famous  clause  that  the  houses 
should  stand  in  the  middle  of  the  lots,  "that  it  may  he  a  green 
country  tozvii,  which  will  never  be  burnt  and  always  be  whole- 
some.'" William  Haige  was  a  little  later  appointed  a  fourth 
commissioner,  and  Crispin  dying  on  the  voyage  to  Pennsylvania, 
Captain  Thomas  Holme  was  commissioned  in  his  place. 

The  Commissioners,  excepting  Holme,  sailed  late  in  Septem- 
ber or  early  in  October.  Several  ships  were  then  leaving  for 
Penn's  new  colony.  One  of  these,  the  Bristol  Factor,  Roger 
Drew  master,  sailed  from  Bristol,  and  arrived  at  Upland,  after  a 
long  voyage  in  December,  probably  on  the  nth  of  the  month. 
Another,  the  John  and  Sarah,  Henry  Smith  master,  left  London 
later,  but  reached  the  Delaware  earlier  than  the  Bristol  ship.  A 
third  vessel,  the  Amity,  Richard  Dimon  master,  is  said  to  have 
sailed  from  London,  to  have  gone  by  the  West  Indies — as  prob- 
ablv  they  all  did — to  have  been  "blown  off"  the  Delaware  capes, 
and  to  have  put  in  at  Barbadoes,  returning  thence  to  England,  and 
not  coming  to  Pennsylvania  until  the  spring  of  1682.  Whether 
this,  resting  upon  the  authority  of  Proud,  is  exactly  correct  is 
doubtful.  It  is  certain  that  the  Amity  did  sail  from  London  on 
the  23d  of  April  following  (1682),  reaching  the  Delaware  late 
in  June.  If  she  had  made  such  a  previous  voyage  as  has  been 
described,  she  must  have  returned,  after  being  "blown  off,"  not 
merely  to  the  West  Indies,  but  to  England. 

The  commissioners  being  gone,  two  other  matters  of  business, 
both  important  as  it  then  seemed,  pressed  on  Penn's  attention. 
One  of  these  was  the  formation  of  a  commercial  company,  the 
Free  Society  of  Trailers,  of  which  great  things  were  expected, 
but  which  in  the  end  brought  little  l)ut  disappointment.  Perhaps 
the  letter  describing  Pennsylvania,  which  Penn  sent  to  it  in  1683. 
of  which  we  shall  speak,  was  the  principal  justification  for  the 
labor  and  money  bestowed  upon  the  company.  The  charter, 
signed  by  Penn  on  the  last  day  of  the  year,  March  24    (1681), 

218 


The  Founder  of   Pennsylvania 

granted  large  powers.  It  was  given  twenty  thousand  acres  of 
land,  to  be  a  "manor,"  in  the  English  character,  ''The  Manor  of 
Frank,"  with  manorial  powers  of  holding  "court-baron"  and 
"court-leet."  Its  privileges  of  trade  were  extensive,  and  large 
plans  were  formed  for  its  operations.  "Two  or  more  general 
factories"  were  to  be  set  up,    one    in    Pennsylvania  and  one  on 


Graeme  Park 

Situated  at  Horsham,  Montgomery  County. 
Originally  a  tract  of  1200  acres.  William  Keith 
erected  the  mansion  in  1722.  Photographed  es- 
pecially for  this  work  by  J.  F.  Sachse  from 
original  painting  in  possession  of  Historical 
Society  of  Pennsylvania 

Chesapeake  bay.  An  array  of  officers,  agents  and  employes  was 
provided  for.  Thoughtful  provision  was  made  for  receiving 
"Blacks  for  Servants."  They  were  to  be  set  free  after  fourteen 
years'  servitude,  but  upon  condition  that  they  should  pay  as  rent 
two-thirds  of  the  produce  of  "such  a  parcell  of  land"  as  the  Society 
should  assign  them.  The  Indians,  too,  were  to  be  assisted,  "both  by 
Advice  and  .Artificers."  to  settle  "in  Towns  and  other  places." 

The  corporation  was  formed  March  2-^,  1681.  and  the  election 
held  in  May.       Nicholas  !More,    a    physician    of    London,    was 

219 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

chosen  president,  and  James  Claypoole  treasurer.  In  June,  the 
capital  paid  in  had  reached  about  ten  thousand  pounds.  More 
proceeded  soon  to  Pennsylvania — in  the  Geoffrey,  a  new  ship, 
which  came  in  twenty-nine  days,  and  arrived  shortly  after  the 
I'Velconie — and  promptly  took  a  leading  part  in  affairs.^  Clay- 
poole came  the  next  year,  in  the  Concord,  with  the  German  set- 
tlers from  Crefeld. 

The  other  large  matter  of  business  which  engaged  Penn,  and 
detained  him  in  England,  was  the  securing  from  the  Duke  of 
York  of  a  conveyance  of  his  property  and  governmental  rights — 
whatever  the  latter  might  be — of  the  colony  on  the  west  bank  of 
Delaware  bay.  There  was  no  grant  of  this,  of  course,  in  the 
charter,  and  the  Duke  had  been  careful  to  retain  the  twelve-mile 
circle  around  New  Castle.  Penn  thus  saw  that  he  might  be  cut 
off  from  the  ocean,  if  the  Duke's  "Lower  Counties"  fell  into  un- 
friendly hands,  and  he  earnestly  pressed  him  to  make  them  over 
to  him.  There  is  evidence  that  the  Duke  was  at  first  disinclined, 
but  he  finally  consented,  and  a  few  days  before  the  Welcome  was 
ready  to  sail,  the  transaction  was  completed.  August  2  the 
Duke  executed  a  release  or  quit-claim  deed  to  all  rights  he  might 
have  in  Pennsylvania,  and  three  days  later  he  executed  two 
"deeds  of  feoffment,"  one  for  the  town  of  New  Castle,  and  the 
land  within  a  circle  drawn  twelve  miles  around  it,  and  the  other 
for  all  the  remainder  of  the  Bay  Territory,  beginning  at  the  cir- 
cular line,  "and  extending  south  to  the  Whorekills,  otherwise 
called  Cape  Henlopen."  In  each  case  the  Duke  appointed  John 
Moll  and  Ephraim  Herman  of  New  Castle  his  attorneys  "to  de- 
liver quiet  and  peaceable  possession  and  seisin."  For  the  New 
Castle  circle  Penn  was  to  pay  a  yearly  rent  of  five  shillings,  "at 
the  feast  of  St.  Michael  the  archangel ;"  for  the  lands  below  he 

■He    was    Speaker    of    the    first    Assembly  ton,    Philadelphia.     He   had   a   grant   of   the 

(Dec.,   1682),  and  later  Chief  Justice,  then  Manor    of    Moreland,    nearly    10,000    acres, 

was  engaged  in  a  long  controversy  with  the  comprising  a  large  part  of  what  became  the 

Assembly,   and   died   in    1687,   at   his   home,  townships  of  Moreland,  in  Philadelphia  and 

"Green   Spring,"   near   what  is  now   Somer-  Montgomery  counties. 

220 


QJ 


r^ 


j^  a.  i^  c  2  -^  ji  i— r.  r  "  c  •;; 

|£.  2tf  ^o  E-"-^  5?^  ^ 


■'^^-If-ST-E 


u   5  :S   c    V    S   ».  J   "   H   3  ^  't 

5    O  —    O    £    3    &■  '    ^'  3    D"--    * 


■  =  >.  i  : 


o  ^ 


«j 


.»  *,J    (J  ::;    O    J-    •-    a 


^    o   '-  C  0 


6  ^  -p  -c 

_2   o   a/0 


*>  V.=  "U 


;i^  I  c 


i?-" 


,^.5tiO^  };  S<2  C^  cO.  ^n 

K   or.  V.  1^  ■—    _   "   t;  3   "  ^ 

•     •*  -^         -^      "       '        fe.1 


3: 

O 
Z 


o 


3^ 


-o  — 


a: 

i  E 

,^  o 


S  5    ? 


c 


o.-c 


-i  ^  ^  .2  ♦ 


SI        ^       _ 

j:   3   C  i;   r;   -r  2 

-^  &0  E  ^  T  ». 


-  u 
—  72 


The  Founder  of   Pennsylvania 

was  to  pay  one-half  the  "rents,  issues,  and  profits,"  and  to  hold 
them  "as  of  the  Duke's  castle  at  New  York,  in  free  and  common 
soccage,"  paying  one  rose,  if  demanded,  annually. 

The  labors  thus  described  may  be  considered  to  have  filled  out 
the  busy  days  of  the  founder  before  his  ship  sailed.  He  was  now 
a  man  nearly  thirty-seven  years  old.  His  home  was  at  Worm- 
inghurst,  in  Sussex,  an  estate 'which  his  wife  had  inherited.  He 
had  three  living  children — Springett.  Letitia.  and  William.  Three 
other  children,  born  earlier,  had  died.  Looking  to  his  departure 
he  addressed  a  beautiful  letter  to  his  wife  and  children,  which 
has  been  ever  since  the  delight  of  a  multitude  of  sympathetic 
readers.  And  before  parting  he  sent  a  short  letter  of  love  to 
each  of  the  children,  a  simple  missive,  in  language  which  their 
young  minds  might  comprehend.  At  the  end  of  August  he  sailed 
for  his  new  colony. 

CHARTER  OF  THE  PROVINCE  OF  PENNSYLVANIA' 

Charles  the  Second,  by  the  Grace  of  God,  King  of  England,  Scotland, 
France  and  Ireland,  defender  of  the  faith,  &c..  To  all  to  whcMiie  these  presents 
shall  come  Greeting.  Whereas  our  Trustie  and  well  beloved  Subject,  Wil- 
liam Penn,  Esquire,  sonn  and  heire  of  Sir  William  Penn,  deceased,  out  of  a 
commendable  desire  to  enlarge  our  English  Empire,  and  promote  such  usefull 
comodities  as  may  bee  of  benefit  to  us  and  our  Dominions,  as  alsoe  to  re- 
duce the  Savage  Natives  by  gentle  and  iust  manners  to  the  love  of  civill  So- 
cietie  and  Christian  Religion  hath  humbley  besought  leave  of  us  to  transport 
an  ample  colonic  unto  a  certaine  Countrey  hereinafter  described  in  the  parts 
of  America  not  yet  cultivated  and  planted.  And  hath  likewise  humbley  be- 
sought our  Royall  majestie  to  give,  grant,  and  confirme  all  the  said  countrey 
with  certaine  privileges  and  Jurisdiccons  requisite  for  the  good  Government 
and  safetie  of  the  said  Countrey  and  Colonie,  to  him  and  his  heirs  forever. 

Know  Yee.  therefore,  that  wee,  favouring  the  petition  and  good  purpose 
of  the  said  William  Penn,  and  haveing  regard  to  the  memorie  and  meritts  of 
his  late  father,  in  divers  services,  and  perticulerly  to  his  conduct,  courage  and 
discretion  under  our  dearest  brother,  James,  Duke  of  Yorke,  in  that  signall 
battell  and  victorie,  fought  and  obteyned  against  the  Dutch  fleete.  command- 

'So  much   in   the   history  of   Pennsylvania  and   in    \'oI.    I.   of   the   "Colonial    Records." 

rests   upon   this  grant   by   the    Knglish    King  A  fac  simile  of  the  copy  Kept  in  the  execu- 

that  it  has  been  thought  proper  to  print  the  tive    offices    at    Harrisburg    has    been    issued 

document  in   full.      It   may  be   found    (vary-  in    connection    with    "The    Duke    of    York's 

ing    slightly    in    language     from    this),    in  Book   of   Laws."    and    "Pennsylvania   Arch- 

Proud's  "History  of  Pennsylvania,"  Vol.  I.,  ivcs,"   Second  Series. 

223 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

ed  by  the  Heer  Van  Opdam,  in  the  yeare  One  thousand  six  hundred  sixtie- 
five,  in  consideration  thereof  of  our  special  grace,  certaine  knowledge  and 
meere  motion,  Have  given  and  granted,  and  by  this  our  present  Charter,  for 
us,  our  heirs  and  successors.  Doe  give  and  grant  unto  the  said  William  Penn, 
his  heirs  and  assignes  all  that  tract  or  parte  of  land  in  America,  with  all  the 
Islands  therein  conteyned,  as  the  same  is  bounded  on  the  East  by  Delaware 
River,  from  twelve  miles  distance  Northwarde  of  New  Castle  Towne  unto  the 
three  and  fortieth  degree  of  Northern  latitude  if  the  said  River  doth  extend 
soe  farre  Northwards ;  But  if  the  said  River  shall  not  extend  soe  farre 
Northward,  then  by  the  said  River  soe  farr  as  it  doth  extend,  and  from  the 
head  of  the  said  River  the  Easterne  bounds  are  to  bee  determined  by  a 
meridian  line  to  bee  drawn  from  the  head  of  the  said  River  unto  the  said 
three  and  fortieth  degree,  the  said  lands  to  extend  Westwards,  five  degrees  in 
longitude,  to  bee  computed  from  the  said  Eastern  Bounds,  and  the  said  lands 
to  bee  bounded  on  the  North,  by  the  beginning  of  the  three  and  fortieth  de- 
gree of  Northern  latitude,  and  on  the  south,  by  a  circle  drawn  at  twelve  miles 
distance  from  New  Castle  Northwards,  and  Westwards  unto  the  beginning  of 
the  fortieth  degree  of  Northern  Latitude ;  and  then  by  a  straight  line  West- 
wards, to  the  limitt  of  Longitude  above  mentioned. 

Wee  Doe  also  give  and  grant  unto  the  said  William  Penn,  his  heirs  and 
assignes,  the  free  and  undisturbed  use,  and  continuance  in  and  passage  into 
and  out  of  all  and  singular  Ports,  harbours,  Bayes,  waters,  rivers.  Isles  and 
Inletts,  belonging  unto  or  leading  to  and  from  the  Countrey,  or  Islands  afore- 
said ;  and  all  the  soyle,  lands,  fields,  woods,  underwoods,  mountaines,  hills, 
fenns,  Isles,  Lakes,  Rivers,  waters,  rivuletts,  Bays  and  Inletts,  scituate  or  be- 
ing within  or  belonging  unto  the  Limitts  and  Bounds  aforesaid,  togeather 
with  the  fishing  of  all  sortes  of  fish,  whales,  sturgeons,  and  all  Royall  and 
other  fishes  in  the  sea,  bayes,  Inletts,  waters  or  Rivers,  within  the  premises, 
and  the  fish  therein  taken,  and  alsoe  all  veines,  mines  and  quarries,  as  well 
discovered  as  not  discovered,  of  Gold,  Silver,  Gemms  and  pretious  Stones,  and 
all  other  whatsoever,  stones,  metalls  or  of  any  other  thing  or  matter  what- 
soever, found  or  to  bee  found  within  the  Countrey,  Isles,  or  Limitts  aforesaid; 
and  him  the  said  William  Penn,  his  heirs  and  assignes.  Wee  Doe,  by  this  our 
Royall  Charter,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  make,  create  and  constitute 
the  true  and  absolute  proprietaries  of  the  Countrey  aforesaid,  and  of  all 
other,  the  premises,  saving  always  to  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  the  faith 
and  allegiance  of  the  said  William  Penn,  his  heirs  and  assignes,  and  of  all 
other,  the  proprietaries,  tenants  and  Inhabitants  that  are,  or  shall  be  within 
the  Territories  and  precincts  aforesaid ;  and  saving  alsoe  unto  us ;  our  heirs 
and  Successors,  the  Sovreignity  of  the  aforesaid  Countrey,  To  Have,  hold, 
possesse  and  enjoy  the  said  tract  of  Land,  Countrey,  Isles,  Inletts  and  other 
the  premises,  unto  the  said  William  Penn,  his  heirs  and  assignes,  to  the  only 
proper  use  and  behoofe  of  the  said  William  Penn,  his  heires  and  assignes  for- 
ever. To  bee  holden  of  us,  our  heirs  and  Successors,  Kings  of  England,  as 
of  our  Castle  of  Windsor,  in  our  County  of  Berks,  in  free  and  comon  socage 
by  fealty  only  for  all  services,  and  not  in  Capite  or  by  Knights  service,  Yeeld- 
ing  and  paying  therfore  to  us,  our  heirs  and  Successors,  two  Beaver  Skins  to 
bee  delivered  att  our  said  Castle  of  Windsor,  on  the  first  day  of  January,  in 
every  yeare;  and  also  the  fifth  parte  of  all  Gold  and  silver  Oare,  which  shall 
from  time  to  time  happen  to  be  found  within  the  Limitts  aforesaid,  cleare  of 
all  charges. 

224 


The  Founder  of  Pennsylvania 

And  of  our  further  grace  certaine  knowledge  and  meere  mocon,  wee  have 
thought  fitt  to  Erect,  and  wee  doe  hereby  Erect  the  aforesaid  Country  and 
Islands,  into  a  province  and  Seigniorie,  and  doe  call  itt  Pexsilvania,  and 
soe  from  henceforth  wee  will  have  itt  called, 

And  forasmuch  as  we  have  hereby  made  and  ordeyned  the  aforesaid  Wil- 
liam Penn,  his  heires  and  assignes,  the  true  and  absolute  Proprietaries  of  all 
the  Lands  and  Dominions  aforesaid.  Know  Yee  therefore,  that  wee  reposing 
special  trust  and  confidence  in  the  fidelitie,  wisdome,  Justice,  and  provident 
circumspeccon  of  the  said  William  Penn,  for  us,  our  heires  and  successors, 
Doe  grant  free,  full  and  absolute  power,  by  vertue  of  these  presents  to  him 
and  his  heires,  and  to  his  and  their  Deputies,  and  Lieutenants,  for  the  good 
and  happy  government  of  the  said  Countrey,  to  ordeyne,  make,  enact  and 
under  his  and  their  Scales  to  publish  any  Lawes  whatsoever,  for  the  raising 
of  money  for  the  pubiick  uses  of  the  said  province,  or  for  any  other  end  ap- 
pertcyning  either  unto  the  pubiick  state  peace,  or  safety  of  the  said  Countrey, 
or  unto  the  private  utility  of  perticular  persons,  according  unto  their  best 
discretions,  by  and  with  the  advice,  assent  and  approbacon  of  the  freemen 
of  the  said  Countrey,  or  the  greater  parte  of  them,  or  of  their  Delegates  or 
Deputies,  whom  for  the  Enacting  of  the  said  Lawes,  when,  and  as  often  as 
need  shall  require.  Wee  Will,  that  the  said  William  Penn,  and  his  heires, 
shall  assemble  in  such  sort  and  forme  as  to  him  and  them  shall  seeme  best 
and  the  same  lawes  duely  to  execute  unto,  and  upon  all  people  within  the 
said  Countrey  and  limits  thereof; 

And  Wee  doe  likewise  give  and  grant  unto  the  said  William  Penn,  and 
his  heires,  and  to  his  and  their  Deputies  and  Lieutenants,  such  power  and 
authoritie  to  appoint  and  establish  any  Judges,  and  Justices,  magistrates  and 
officers  whatsoever,  for  what  causes  soever,  for  the  probates  of  wills  and  for 
the  granting  of  administracons  w'ithin  the  precincts  aforesaid,  and  with  what 
power  soever,  and  in  such  forme  as  to  the  said  William  Penn,  or  his  heires, 
shall  seeme  most  convenient;  Alsoe,  to  remitt,  release,  pardon  and  abolish, 
whether  before  Judgement  or  after,  all  crimes  and  offences,  whatsover  com- 
mitted within  the  said  Countrey,  against  the  said  Lawes,  treason  and  wilfull 
and  malitious  murder  onely  excepted;  and  in  those  cases,  to  grant  reprieves 
untill  our  pleasure  may  bee  knowne  thereon,  and  to  doe  all  and  every  other 
thing  and  things  which  unto  the  complete  establishment  of  Justice  unto 
Courts  and  Tribunals,  formes  of  Judicature  and  manner  of  proceedings  doe 
belong,  although  in  these  presents  expresse  mencon  bee  not  made  theerof; 
and  by  Judges  by  them  delegated  to  award  processe,  hold  pleas  and  determine 
in  all  the  said  Courts  and  Tribunalls,  all  accons,  suits  and  causes  whatsoever, 
as  well  criminall  as  civil!,  personall,  reall  and  mixt,  which  Lawes  soe  as  afore- 
said to  be  published.  Our  pleasure  is,  and  soe  Wee  enjoyne,  require  and  com- 
mand shall  bee  most  absolute  and  avaylable  in  law,  and  that  all  the  Liege  peo- 
ple and  Subjects  of  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  doe  observe  and  keepe  the 
same  inviolable  in  those  partes,  soe  farr  as  they  concerne  them,  under  the 
paine  therein  expressed,  or  to  bee  expressed.  Provided :  Xevertheles,  that 
the  said  Lawes  bee  consonant  to  reason,  and  bee  not  repugnant  or  contrarie, 
but  as  neere  as  conveniently  may  bee  agreeable  to  the  Lawes,  statutes  and 
rights  of  this  our  Kingdome  of  England,  and  saveing  and  reserving  to  us, 
our  heirs  and  successors,  the  receiving,  hearing  and  determining  of  the  ap- 
peale  and  appeales,  of  all  or  any  person  or  persons,  of,  in  or  belonging  to  the 
territories  aforesaid,  or  touching  any  Judgement  to  bee  there  made  or  given. 

I-I5  225 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

And  forasmuch  as  in  the  Government  of  soe  great  a  Countrey,  sudden 
accidents  doe  often  happen,  whereunto  itt  will  be  necessarie  to  apply  a  reme- 
die  before  the  freeholders  of  the  said  Province,  or  their  Delegates  or  Deputies 
can  be  assembled  to  the  making  of  Lawes,  neither  will  itt  be  convenient  that 
instantly  upon  every  such  emergent  occasion,  soe  greate  a  multitude  should  be 
called  together;  Therefore,  for  the  better  Government  of  the  said  Countrey, 
Wee  Will,  and  ordeyne,  and  by  these  presents  for  us,  our  heires  and  suc- 
cessors, Doe  grant  unto  the  said  William  Penn  and  his  heires,  by  themselves 
or  by  their  magistrates  and  officers,  in  that  behalfe,  duely  to  bee  ordeyned  as 
aforesaid,  to  make  and  constitute,  fitt  and  wholesome  ordinances  from  time 
to  time  within  the  said  Countrey,  to  bee  kept  and  observed  as  well  for  the 
preservacon  of  the  peace,  as  for  the  better  government  of  the  people  there  in- 
habiting, and  publickly  to  notifie  the  same,  to  all  persons  whome  the  same 
doeth  or  any  way  may  concerne,  which  ordinances  our  will  and  pleasure  is, 
shall  be  observed  inviolably  within  the  said  Province,  under  paines  therein 
to  bee  expressed,  soe  as  the  said  ordinances  bee  consonant  to  reason  and  bee 
not  repugnant  nor  contrary,  but  soe  farre  as  conveniently  may  bee  agreeable 
with  the  Lawes  of  our  Kingdome  of  England,  and  soe  as  the  said  ordinances 
be  not  extended  in  any  sort  to  bind,  charge  or  take  away  the  right  or  interest 
of  any  person  or  persons,  for  or  in  their  life,  members,  freehold,  goods  or 
Chattells ;  and  our  further  will  and  pleasure  is,  that  the  Lawes  for  regulat- 
ing and  governing  of  propertie,  within  the  said  Province,  as  well  for  the  de- 
scent and  enjoyment  of  lands,  as  likewise  for  the  enioyment  and  succession 
of  goods  and  Chattells,  and  likewise  as  to  felonies,  shall  be  and  continue  the 
same  as  they  shall  bee  for  the  time  being,  by  the  general  course  of  the  law  in 
our  Kingdome  of  England,  untill  the  said  Lawes  shall  be  altered  by  the  said 
William  Penn,  his  heirs  or  assignes,  and  by  the  freemen  of  the  said  Prov- 
ince, their  Delegates  or  Deputies  or  the  greater  part  of  them. 

And  to  the  End  the  said  William  Penn,  or  heires,  or  other,  the  Planters, 
Owners  or  Inhabitants  of  the  said  Province,  may  not  att  any  time  hereafter, 
by  misconstrucon  of  the  powers  aforesaid,  through  inadvertiencie  or  designe, 
depart  from  that  faith  and  due  allegiance  which  by  the  Lawes  of  this  our 
Realme  of  England,  they  and  all  our  subjects,  in  our  Dominions  and  Terri- 
tories, always  owe  unto  us,  our  heires  and  successors,  by  colour  of  any  extent 
or  largenesse  of  powers  hereby  given,  or  pretended  to  bee  given,  or  by  force 
or  colour  of  any  lawes  hereafter  to  bee  made  in  the  said  Province,  by  virtue 
of  any  such  powers,  Our  further  will  and  pleasure  is,  that  a  transcript  or 
Duplicate  of  all  lawes  which  shall  bee  soe  as  aforesaid,  made  and  published 
within  the  said  province,  shall  within  five  yeares  after  the  making  thereof,  be 
transmitted  and  delivered  to  the  privy  Councell,  for  the  time  being,  of  us, 
our  heires  and  successors ;  and  if  any  of  the  said  Lawes  within  the  space  of 
six  months,  after  that  they  shall  be  soe  transmitted  and  delivered,  bee  de- 
clared by  us,  our  heires  and  successors,  in  our  or  their  privy  Councill,  incon- 
sistent with  the  sovereignty  or  lawfull  prerogative  of  us,  our  heirs  or  succes- 
sors, or  contrary  to  the  faith  and  allegiance  due  by  the  legall  Government  of 
this  realme,  from  the  said  William  Penn,  or  his  heires.  or  of  the  Planters  and 
Inhabitants  of  the  said  province ;  and  that  thereupon  any  of  the  said  Lawes 
shall  bee  adiudged  and  declared  to  be  void  by  us,  our  heirs  or  successors,  un- 
der our  or  their  Privy  Scale,  that  then,  and  from  thenceforth  such  Lawes 
concerning  which  such  Judgement  and  declaracon  shall  be  made,  shall  become 
voyd,  otherwise  the  said   lawes   soe  transmitted,   shall  remaine  and   stand  in 

226 


The   Founder  of  Pennsylvania 

full  force  according  to  the  true  intent  and  meaning  thereof.  Furthermore, 
that  this  new  Colony  maj'  be  more  happily  increased,  by  the  multitude  of  peo- 
ple resorting  thither ;  Therefore,  Wee,  for  us,  our  heires  and  successors,  do 
give  and  grant  by  these  presents,  power,  licence  and  libertie  unto  all  the  liege 
people  and  subjects,  both  present  and  future  of  us,  our  heires  and  successors, 
excepting  those  who  shall  bee  especially  forbidden,  to  transport  themselves 
and  families  unto  the  said  Countrey,  with  such  convenient  shipping,  as  by 
the  laws  of  this,  our  kingdome  of  England,  they  ought  to  use  with  fitting 
provisions,  paying  only  the  customs  therefore  due,  and  there  to  settle  them- 
selves, dwell  and  inhabitt  and  plant  for  the  public  and  their  own  private  ad- 
vantage ; 

And  Furthermore,  that  our  subjects  may  bee  the  rather  encouraged  to 
undertake  this  expedicon  with  ready  and  cheerful  mindes,  Know  Yee,  that 
wee  of  our  especial  grace,  certaine  knowledge  and  meere  mocon,  Doe  give 
and  grant  by  vertue  of  these  presents,  as  well  unto  the  said  William  Penn  and 
his  heires,  as  to  all  others  who  shall  from  time  to  time  repaire  unto  the  said 
Countrey,  with  a  purpose  to  inhabitt  there,  or  to  trade  with  the  natives  of 
the  said  Country,  full  license  to  lade  and  freight  in  any  Ports,  whatsoever  of 
us,  our  heires  and  successors,  according  to  the  lawes,  made  or  to  be  made 
within  our  kingdome  of  England,  and  into  the  said  Countrey,  by  them,  their 
servants  or  assigns,  to  transport  all  and  singular  their  wares,  goods  and  mer- 
chandizes, as  likewise,  all  sorts  of  graine  whatsoever,  and  all  other  things 
whatsoever  necessary  for  food  or  cloathing,  not  phibited  by  the  lawes  and 
Statutes  of  our  Kingdomes  and  Dominions,  to  be  carryed  out  of  the  said 
Kingdomes  without  any  lett  or  molestacon  of  us,  our  heires  and  sucessors. 
or  of  any  the  officers  of  us,  our  heires  and  successors,  saveing  alwayes  to  us, 
our  heirs  and  successors,  the  legall  impossitons,  customes,  and  other  duties 
and  payments  for  the  said  wares  and  merchandize,  by  any  law  or  statute  due 
or  to  be  due  to  us,  our  heirs  and  successors. 

And  Wee  Doe  further  for  us,  our  heires  and  Successors  give  and  grant 
unto  the  said  William  Penn  his  heires  and  assignes,  free  and  absolute  power 
to  Divide  the  said  Countrey,  and  Islands,  into  Townes,  Hundreds  and  Coun- 
ties, and  to  erect  and  incorporate  Townes  into  Borroughs,  and  Borroughs 
into  Citties,  and  to  make  and  constitute  ffaires  and  markets  therein,  with  all 
other  convenient  privileges  and  imunities  according  to  the  merits  of  the  in- 
habitants and  the  ffitnes  of  the  places;  &  to  doe  all  and  every  other  thing  and 
things  touching  the  premises  which  to  him  or  them  shall  seeme  requisite,  and 
meet,  albeit  they  be  such  as  of  their  owne  nature  might  otherwise  require  a 
more  especiall  comandmcnt  and  warrant,  then  in  these  presents  is  expressed. 

Wee  Will  Alsoe,  and  by  these  presents  for  us,  our  heires  and  successors. 
Wee  doe  give  and  grant  licence  by  this  charter,  unto  the  said  William  Penn, 
his  heires  and  assignes,  and  to  all  inhabitants  and  dwellers  in  pvince  afore- 
said, both  present,  and  to  come  to  import  or  unlade  by  themselves  or  their 
Servants,  ffactors  or  assigns,  all  merchandizes  and  goods  whatsoever  that 
shall  arise  of  the  fruites  and  comodities  of  the  said  province,  either  by  Land 
or  Sea,  into  any  of  the  Ports  of  us,  our  heires  and  successors,  in  our  King- 
dome  of  England,  and  not  into  any  other  country  whatsoever.  And  Wee 
give  him  full  power  to  dispose  of  the  said  goods  in  the  said  ports,  and  if  need 
be,  within  one  yeare  next  after  the  unladeing  of  the  same,  to  lade  the  said 
merchandizes  and  goods  again  into  the  same  or  other  shipps,  and  to  export 
the  same  into  any  other  Countreys,  either  of  our  Dominions  or  flForreigne, 

227 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

according  to  lawe :  Provided  alwayes,  that  they  pay  such  customes  and  im- 
posicons,  subsidies  and  duties  for  the  same  to  vs,  our  heires  and  successors, 
as  the  rest  of  our  subjects  of  our  Kingdome  of  England,  for  the  time  being 
shall  be  bound  to  pay,  and  doe  observe  the  acts  of  Navigation  and  other  laws 
in  that  behalfe  made. 

And  Furthermore,  of  our  more  ample  and  especiall  grace,  certaine  knowl- 
edge and  meere  motion.  Wee  Doe,  for  us,  our  heires  and  successors,  Grant 
unto  the  said  William  Penn,  his  heires  and  assignes,  full  and  absolute  power 
and  authoritie,  to  make,  erect  and  constitute  within  the  said  province,  and  the 
Isles  and  Isletts  aforesaid,  such  and  soe  many  Seaports,  harbours.  Creeks, 
Havens,  Keyes  and  other  places,  for  discharge  and  unlading  of  goods  & 
merchandize  out  of  the  shipps,  boates  and  other  vessells,  and  Ladeing  them  in 
such  and  soe  many  places,  and  with  such  rights,  Jurisdiccons,  liberties  and 
privileges  unto  the  said  ports,  belonging  as  to  him  or  them,  shall  seeme  most 
expedient,  and  that  all  and  singular  the  shipps,  boates  and  other  vessells 
which  shall  come  for  merchandize  and  trade,  unto  the  said  pvince,  or  out  of 
the  same  shall  depart,  shall  be  laden  or  unladen  onely  at  such  ports  as  shall  be 
erected  and  constituted  by  the  said  William  Penn,  his  heires  and  assigns,  any 
use,  custome  of  other  thing  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding :  Provided,  that 
the  said  William  Penn  and  his  heires,  and  the  Lieutenants  and  Governors  for 
the  time  being,  shall  admitt  and  receive  in  and  about  all  such  ports,  havens. 
Creeks  and  Keyes,  all  officers  and  their  Deputies,  who  shall  from  time  to  time 
be  appointed  for  that  purpose,  by  the  ffarmers  or  Commissioners  of  our  cus- 
tomes, for  the  time  being. 

And  W'ee  Doe  further  appoint  and  ordaine,  and  by  these  presents  for  us, 
our  heires  and  successors,  Wee  Doe  grant  unto  the  said  W^illiam  Penn,  his 
heires  and  assignes  that  he  the  said  William  Penn,  his  heires  and  assignes, 
may  from  time  to  time  forever,  have  and  enjoy  the  customes  and  subsidies  in 
the  ports,  harbours  and  other  Creeks,  and  places  aforesaid,  within  the  pvince 
aforesaid,  payable  or  due  for  merchandizes  and  wares,  there  to  be  laded  and 
unladed,  the  said  customes  and  subsidies  to  be  reasonably  assessed,  upon  any 
occasion  by  themselves,  and  the  people  there  as  aforesaid,  to  be  assembled  to 
whom  Wee  give  power,  by  these  presents  for  us,  our  heires  and  successors, 
upon  just  cause,  and  in  a  due  pporcon,  to  assesse  and  impose  the  same,  saveing 
unto  us,  our  heires  and  successors,  such  imposcons  and  customes  as  by  act  of 
parliament  are  and  shall  be  appointed  ;  and  it  is  our  further  will  and  pleas- 
ure, that  the  said  William  Penn,  his  heires  and  assignes,  shall  from  time  to 
time  constitute  and  appoint  an  attorney  or  agent,  to  reside  in  or  near  our 
Citty  of  London,  who  shall  make  knowne  the  place  where  he  shall  dwell  or 
may  be  found,  unto  the  Clerks  of  Our  privy  Counsell,  for  the  time  being,  or 
one  of  them,  and  shall  be  ready  to  appeare  in  any  of  our  Courtts  att  West- 
minster, to  answer  for  any  misdemeanors  that  shall  be  comitted,  or  by  any 
wilfull  default  or  neglect  pmitted  by  the  said  William  Penn,  his  heirs  or  as- 
signes, against  our  Lawes  of  Trade  or  Navigacon,  and  after  it  shall  be  ascer- 
tained in  any  of  the  our  said  Courts,  what  damages  Wee  or  our  heires  or  suc- 
cessors shall  have  sustained,  by  such  default  or  neglect,  the  said  William 
Penn,  his  heires  and  assignes,  shall  pay  the  same  within  one  yeare  after  such 
taxacon  and  demand  thereof,  from  such  attorney,  or  in  case  there  shall  be  noe 
such  attorney,  by  the  space  of  one  yeare,  or  such  attorney  shall  not  make 
payment  of  such  damages,  within  the  space  of  one  yeare,  and  answer  such 
other  forfeitures  and  penalties  within  the  said  time,  as  by  the  acts  of  parlia- 

228 


William  Keith 


Baronet;  lieutenant-governor,  1717;  established 
High  Court  of  Chancery  which  was  abolished 
173s;  issued  the  first  paper  money  of  the  col- 
ony. Photographed  especially  for  this  work  by 
T.  F.  Sachse  from  the  original  in  the  Historical 
Society  of  Pennsylvania 


The  Founder  of  Pennsylvania 

ment  in  England,  are  or  shall  be  pvided.  according  to  the  true  intent  and 
meaning  of  these  presents :  Then  it  shall  be  lawfule  for  us,  our  heirs  and  suc- 
cessors, to  seize  and  Resume  the  government  of  the  said  pvince  or  Countrey, 
and  the  same  to  retaine  until  payment  shall  be  made  thereof.  But  notwith- 
standing any  such  seizure  or  resumption  of  the  Government,  nothing  concern- 
ing the  propriety  or  ownership  of  any  Lands,  Tenements  or  other  heredita- 
ments, or  goods,  or  chattels  of  any  of  the  adventurers.  Planters  or  owners, 
other  than  the  respective  offenders  there  shall  be  any  way  affected  or  molest- 
ed thereby : 

Provided  alwayes,  that  our  will  and  pleasure  is,  that  neither  the  said  Wil- 
liam Penn,  nor  his  heires,  nor  any  other  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  pvince, 
shall  at  any  time  hereafter  haue  or  maintain  any  correspondence  with  any 
other  king,  prince  or  State,  or  with  any  of  their  subjects,  who  shall  tlien  be  at 
warr  against  us,  our  heires  or  successors ;  Nor  shall  the  said  William  Penn, 
or  his  heires,  or  any  other  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  pvince,  make  warr  or 
doe  any  act  of  hostilitie  against  any  other  king,  prince  or  state,  or  any  of  their 
subjects  who  shall  then  be  in  league  or  amity  with  us,  our  heires  or  succes- 
sors. 

And  because  in  soe  remote  a  Countrey,  and  scituate  neare  many  Barbar- 
ous Nations,  the  incursions  as  well  of  the  savages  themselves,  as  of  other 
enemies,  pirates  and  Robbers,  may  pbably  be  feared.  Therefore,  Wee  have 
given  and  for  us,  our  heires  and  successors.  Doe  give  power  by  these  presents 
unto  the  said  William  Penn,  his  heires  and  assignes,  by  themselves  or  their 
Captaines  or  other,  their  officers  to  levy,  muster  and  traine  all  sorts  of  men, 
of  what  condicon,  or  whatsoever  borne,  in  the  said  pvince  of  Pensylvania, 
for  the  time  being,  and  to  make  warr  and  pursue  the  enemies  and  Robbers 
aforesaid,  as  well  by  Sea  as  by  Land,  yea.  even  without  the  Limits  of  the  said 
pvince,  and  by  God's  assistance  to  vanquish  and  take  them,  and  being  taken, 
to  put  them  to  death  by  the  law  of  Warr,  or  to  save  them  att  theire  pleasure, 
and  to  doe  all  and  every  other  act  and  thing,  which  to  the  charge  and  office 
of  a  Captaine  generall  of  an  Army,  belongeth  or  hath  accustomed  to  belong, 
as  fully  and  ffreely  as  any  Captaine  Generall  of  an  Army,  hath  ever  had  the 
same. 

And  Furthermore,  of  our  especiall  grace  and  of  our  certaine  knowledg 
and  meere  motion.  Wee  have  given  and  granted,  and  by  these  presents  for  us, 
our  heires  and  successors,  Doe  give  and  grant  unto  the  said  William  Penn,  his 
heires  and  assignes,  full  and  absolute  power,  licence  and  authoritie.  That  he 
the  said  W^illiam  Penn,  his  heires  and  Assignes,  from  time  to  time  hereafter 
forever,  att  his  or  theire  will  and  pleasure,  may  assigne,  alien,  grant,  demise 
or  inffeoffe  of  the  premises,  soe  many,  and  such  partes  and  parcclls  to  him  or 
them,  that  shall  be  willing  to  purchase  the  same,  as  they  shall  thinke  ffitt.  To 
Have  And  To  Hold  to  them,  the  said  person  and  persons  willing  to  take  or 
purchase,  theire  heires  and  assignes.  in  ffee  simple  or  ffeetaile,  or  for  the  term 
of  life,  or  Hues,  or  yeares,  to  be  held  of  the  said  William  Penn,  his  heires  and 
assignes  as  of  the  said  Seigniory  of  Windsor,  by  such  services,  customes  and 
rents,  as  shall  seeme  ffitt  to  the  said  William  Penn,  his  heires  and  assignes, 
and  not  immediately  of  us,  our  heires  and  successors,  and  to  the  same  per- 
son or  persons,  and  to  all  and  every  of  them.  Wee  Doe  give  and  grant  by 
these  presents,  for  us,  our  heires  and  successors.  Licence,  authoritie  and 
power,  that  such  person  or  persons  may  take  the  premisses  or  any  parcell 
thereof,  of  the  aforesaid  William   Penn.  his  heires  or  assignes.  and  the  same 

231 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

hold  to  themselves,  their  heires  and  assignes,  in  what  estate  of  inheritance 
soever,  in  ffee  simple  or  in  ffetaile  or  otherwise,  as  to  him  and  said  William 
Penn,  his  heires  and  assignes,  shall  seem  expedient.  The  Statutes  made 
in  the  parliament  of  Edward,  sonne  of  King  Henry,  late  King  of  England, 
our  predecessor,  commonly  called  the  Statute  Qui  Emptores  tcrrarum,  lately 


Court  House  or  City  Hall,  Chester 


Oldest    public    building    in    the    State;    erected 
1724;  still  standing.     Photo  by  D.  E.  Brinton 


published  in  our  kingdomes  of  England,  in  any  wise  notwithstanding,  and 
by  these  presents.  Wee  give  and  grant  licence  unto  the  said  William  Penn, 
and  his  heires,  likewise  to  all  and  every  such  person  and  persons,  to  whom  the 
said  William  Penn,  or  his  heires,  shall  at  any  time  hereafter,  grant  any  estate 
of  inheritance  as  aforesaid,  to  erect  any  parcells  of  Land  within  the  pvince 
aforesaid,  into  manners,  by  and  with  the  licence  to  be  first  had  and  obteyned 
for  that  purpose  under  the  hand  and  scale  of  the  said  William  Penn,  or  his 
heires,  and  in  every  of  the  said  mannors,  to  have  and  to  hold  a  Court  Baron, 

232 


The  Founder  of  Pennsylvania 

with  all  things  whatsoever,  which  to  a  Court  Baron  do  belong;  and  to  have 
and  hold  view  of  ffrankpledge,  for  the  conservacon  of  the  peace,  and  the  bet- 
ter government  of  those  parties  by  themselves  or  their  Stewarts,  or  by  the 
Lords  for  the  time  being,  of  other  mannors  to  be  deputed  when  they  shall  be 
erected,  and  in  same  to  use  all  things  belonging  to  view  of  ffrankpledge ;  and 
Wee  doe  further  grant  licence  and  authoritie  that  everj'  such  person  and  per- 
sons, who  shall  erect  any  such  raannor  or  mannors  as  aforesaid,  shall  or  may 
grant  all  or  any  parte  of  his  said  lands  to  any  person  or  persons,  in  ffee  sim- 
ple or  any  other  estate  of  inheritance  to  be  held  of  the  said  mannors  respect- 
ively, soe  as  noe  further  tenures  shall  be  created,  but  that  upon  all  further 
and  other  alienacons  thereafter,  to  be  made  the  said  lands  soe  aliened,  shall 
be  held  of  the  same  Lord  and  his  heires.  of  whom  the  alien  did  then  before 
hold,  and  by  the  like  rents  and  services,  which  were  before  due  and  accus- 
tomed. And  further,  our  pleasure  is  and  by  these  presents  for  us.  our 
heires  and  successors.  Wee  doe  Covenant  and  grant  to  and  with  the  said  Wil- 
liam Penn,  and  his  heires  and  assignes,  that  Wee,  our  heires  and  successors, 
shall  att  no  time  hereafter  sett  or  make,  or  cause  to  be  sett,  any  imposicon. 
custome  or  other  taxacon,  rate  or  contribucon  whatsoever,  in  and  upon  the 
dwellers  and  inhabitants  of  the  aforesaid  pvince,  for  their  lands,  tenements, 
goods  or  chattels,  within  the  said  province,  or  in  and  upon  any  goods  or  mer- 
chandize within  the  said  pvince,  or  to  be  laden  or  unladen  within  the  ports 
or  harbours  of  the  said  pvince.  unles  the  same  be  with  the  consent  of  the 
pprietary,  or  chiefe  Governor  and  Assembly,  or  by  act  of  parliament  in  Eng- 
land. And  our  pleasure  is.  and  for  us  our  heires  and  successors.  Wee 
charge  and  comand,  that  this  our  Declaracon,  shall  from  henceforward  be 
received,  and  allowed  from  time  to  time  in  all  our  Courts,  and  before  all  the 
Judges  of  us,  our  heires  and  successors,  for  a  sufficient  and  lawful  discharge, 
payment  and  acquittance,  commanding  all  and  singular  the  officers  and  min- 
isters of  us.  our  heires  and  successors,  and  enjoyneing  them  upon  paine  of 
our  high  displeasure,  that  they  doe  not  presume  att  any  time  to  attempt  any- 
thing to  the  contrary  of  the  premises,  or  that  they  doe  in  any  sort  withstand 
the  same,  but  that  they  bee  att  all  times  aiding  and  assisting  as  is  fitting  unto 
the  said  William  Penn,  and  his  heires,  and  to  the  inhabitants  and  merchants 
of  the  pvince  aforesaid,  their  servants,  ministers,  ffactors  and  assignes.  in  the 
full  use  and  fruition  of  the  beneffitt  of  this  our  Charter: 

And  our  further  pleasure  is.  And  Wee  doe  hereby,  for  us.  our  heires  and 
successors,  charge  and  require  that  if  an\'  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  pvince, 
to  the  number  of  Twenty,  shall  att  any  time  hereafter  be  desirous, 
uind  shall  by  any  writeing  or  by  any  person  deputed  for  them,  signify  such 
their  desire  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  that  any  preacher  or  preachers  to  be  ap- 
proved of  by  the  said  Bishop,  may  be  sent  unto  them  for  their  instruccon,  and 
then  such  preacher  or  preachers,  shall  and  may  be  and  reside  within  the  said 
pvince,  without  any  Deniall  or  molestacon  whatsoever;  and  if  perchance  it 
should  happen  hereafter,  any  doubts  or  questions  should  arise  concerneing 
the  true  sence  &  meaning  of  any  word  clause  or  sentence,  conteyned  in  this 
our  present  charter.  Wee  Will  ordainc  and  comand.  that  att  all  times  and  in 
all  things  such  interpretacon  be  made  thereof,  and  allowed  in  any  of  our 
courts  whatsoever,  as  shall  be  adiudged  most  advantageous  and  favourable 
unto  the  said  William  Penn,  his  heires  and  assignes :  Provided  alwayes  that  no 
interpretacon  be  admitted  thereof,  by  which  the  allegiance  due  unto  us,  our 
heires  and  successors,  may  suffer  any  preiudice  or  diminucon.  although  expres 

233 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

mencon  be  not  made  in  these  presents,  of  the  true  yearly  value  or  certainty 
of  the  premisses,  or  of  any  parte  thereof,  or  of  other  guifts  and  grants  made 
by  us,  our  pgenitors  or  predecessors,  unto  the  same  William  Penn,  or  any 
Statute,  act,  ordinance,  pvision,  pclamacon  or  restraint  heretofore,  had  made, 
published,  ordained  or  pvided,  or  any  other  thing,  cause  or  matter  whatsoever 
to  the  contrary  thereof,  in  any  wise  notwithstanding. 

In  Witness  whereof  Wee  have  caused  these  our  letters  to  be  made  pat- 
ents, Witness  our  selfe  at  Westminster,  the  fourth  day  of  March,  in  the  three 
and  thirtieth  year  of  our  Reigne. 

By  writt  of  privy  Scale.  Pigott. 

"CONDITIONS  AND   CONCESSIONS"^ 

First. — That  so  soon  as  it  pleaseth  God  that  the  above  said  persons  arrive 
there,  a  quantity  of  land  or  Ground  plat  shall  be  laid  out  for  a  large  Town  or 
City  in  the  most  convenient  place  upon  the  River  for  health  and  navigation ; 
and  every  purchaser  and  adventurer  shall  by  lot  have  so  much  land  therein 
as  will  answer  to  the  proportion  which  he  hath  bought  or  taken  up  upon  rent. 
But  it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  surveyors  shall  consider  what  Roads  or  High- 
ways will  be  necessary  to  the  Cities,  Towns,  or  through  the  lands.  Great 
roads  from  City  to  City  not  to  contain  less  than  forty  feet  in  breadth  shall  be 
first  laid  out  and  declared  to  be  for  highways  before  the  Dividend  of  acres  be 
laid  out  for  the  purchaser,  and  the  like  observation  to  be  had  for  the  streets 
in  the  Towns  and  Cities,  that  there  may  be  convenient  roads  and  streets  pre- 
served not  to  be  encroached  upon  by  any  planter  or  builder  that  none  may 
build  irregularly  to  the  damage  of  another 

Eighthly. — And  for  the  encouragement  of  such  as  are  ingenious,  and  will- 
ing to  search  out  Gold  and  silver  mines  in  this  province,  it  is  hereby  agreed 
that  they  have  liberty  to  bore  and  dig  in  any  man's  property,  fully  paying  the 
damage  done,  and  in  case  a  Discovery  should  be  made,  that  the  discoverer 
have  one-fifth,  the  owner  of  the  soil  (if  not  the  Discoverer)  a  Tenth  part, 
the  Governor  Two  Fifths,  and  the  rest  to  the  public  Treasury,  saving  to  the 
king  the  share  reserved  by  patent. 

Ninthly.  In  every  hundred  thousand  acres,  the  Governor  and  Proprie- 
tary by  lot  reserveth  Ten  to  himself,  which  shall  lie  but  in  one  place. 

Tcnthly. — That  every  man  shall  be  bound  to  plant  or  man  so  much  of 
his  share  of  Land  as  shall  be  set  out  and  surveyed,  within  three  years  after 
it  is  so  set  out  and  surveyed,  or  else  it  shall  be  lawful  for  new  comers  to  be 
settled  thereupon,  paying  to  them  their  survey  money,  and  they  go  up  higher 
for  their  shares. 

Eleventhly. — There  shall  be  no  buying  and  selling,  be  it  with  an  Indian, 
or  one  among  another,  of  any  goods  to  be  exported  but  what  shall  be  per- 
formed in  public  market,  when  such  place  shall  be  set  apart  or  erected,  where 
they  shall  pass  the  public  Stamp  or  Mark.  If  bad  ware  and  prized  as  good, 
or  deceitful  in  proportion  or  weight,  to  forfeit  the  value  as  if  good,  and  full 
weight  and  proportion  to  the  public  Treasury  of  the  Province,  whether  it  be 
the  merchandize  of  the  Indian  or  that  of  the  Planters. 

■■See     full     document     in     "Pennsylvania 
Archives,"  Vol.  I. 


The  Founder  of  Pennsylvania 

Tzi'clftlily.  And  forasmuch  as  it  is  usual  with  the  planters  to  over-reach 
the  poor  natives  of  the  Country  in  Trade,  by  Goods  not  being  good  of  the 
kind,  or  debased  with  mixtures,^  with  which  they  are  sensibly  aggrieved,  it  is 
agreed,  whatever  is  sold  to  the  Indians,  in  consideration  of  their  furs,  shall 
be  sold  in  the  market  place,  and  there  suffer  the  test,  whether  good  or  bad; 
if  good  to  pass;  if  not  good,  not  to  be  sold  for  good,  that  the  natives  may  not 
be  abused  nor  provoked. 

Thirtccnthly.  That  no  man  shall  by  any  ways  or  means,  in  word  or 
deed,  affront  or  wrong  any  Indian,  but  he  shall  incur  the  same  penalty  of  the 
law  as  if  he  had  committed  it  against  his  fellow  planters;  and  if  any  Indian 
shall  abuse,  in  Word  or  Deed,  any  planter  of  this  province,  that  he  shall  not 
be  his  own  Judge  upon  the  Indian,  but  he  shall  make  his  complaint  to  the  Gov- 
ernor of  the  province,  or  his  Lieutenant  or  Deputy,  or  some  inferior  magis- 
trate near  him,  who  shall,  to  the  utmost  of  his  power,  take  care  with  the  king 
of  the  said  Indian,  that  all  reasonable  Satisfaction  be  made  to  the  said  injured 
planter. 

Fourtccnthly. — That  all  differences  between  the  Planters  and  the  natives 
shall  also  be  ended  by  Twelve  men,  that  is,  by  Si.\  planters  and  Six  natives, 
that  so  we  may  live  friendly  together  as  much  as  in  us  lieth,  preventing  all 
occasions  of  Heart  burnings  and  mischief. 

Fiftecnthly. — That  the  Indians  shall  have  liberty  to  do  all  things  relating 
to  improvement  of  their  Ground,  and  providing  sustenance  for  the  families, 
that  any  of  the  planters  shall  enjoy 

Eighteenthly. — That  in  clearing  the  ground,  care  be  taken  to  leave  one 
acre  of  trees  for  every  five  acres  cleared,  especially  to  preserve  oak  and  mul- 
berries, for  silk  and  shipping.  .  .  . 

Sealed  and  delivered  in  the  presence  of  \\'ili.i.\m  Penx. 

[Signed  also  by  Humphrey  South,  Thomas  Barker,  Samuel  Jobson,  John 
Joseph  Moore,  William  Powel,  Richard  Davies,  Griffith  Jones,  Hugh  Lambe, 
Thomas  Farrinborough,  John  Goodson,  William  Boelham,  Harbert  Springett, 
Thomas  Rudyard.] 


235 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  PENN'S  COLONY— 1681-1700 

WHILE  Penn  had  been  busy  with  preparations  in  Eng- 
land, some  progress  had  been  made  on  the  Delaware, 
under  the  new  charter.  We  have  seen  that  Lieut. -Gov. 
Markham  reached  New  York  in  June  (1681.)  He  found  in 
charge  there  Captain  x^nthon}-  Brockholls,  deputy  governor. 
Major  Andros  having  gone  to  England  in  January  to  defend  his 
administration  of  the  Duke  of  York's  colonies.  Brockholls  in- 
spected the  documents  which  Markham  brought,  acknowledged 
their  validity,  and  gave  him  a  letter  to  the  settlers  within  the 
Pennsylvania  limits,  notifying  them  of  the  grant  to  Penn,  and  di- 
recting them  to  yield  due  submission  to  the  new  Proprietary. 

This  letter  has  the  date  of  June  21.  Just  a  week  earlier  the 
Upland  Court  had  been  sitting  at  Kingsesse,  and  concluding  its 
varied  business,  judicial  and  executive,  had  adjourned  to  the  sec- 
ond Tuesday  of  September.  Appended  in  its  "Record,"  without 
date  of  entry,  is  found  Captain  Brockholl's  order,  and  no  further 
proceedings  of  the  Court  are  recorded.  Markham  no  doubt  pre- 
sented his  letter  to  the  justices,  and  announced  to  them  and  the 
settlers  that  once  more  a  change  of  government  had  been  decreed. 
On  the  3d  of  August  he  assembled  at  Upland  a  Council  of  nine 
persons,  as  Penn  had  directed.  The  nine  included  two  Swedes, 
Otto  Ernest  Cock  and  Lasse  Cock,  and  seven  of  the  English  set- 
tlers, Robert  \\'ade,  James  Sandilands,  Thomas  Fairman,  Mor- 
gan Drewet.  William  Woodmanson,  \\^illiam  \\'arner,  and  Wil- 
liam Clayton. 

236 


The  Beginnings  of   Penn's  Colony 

This  organization  of  the  Council  at  Upland,  August  3,  i68t, 
may  be  regarded  as  the  formal  beginning  of  the  government  of 
the  Colony,  now  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  Unfortunately  no 
record  of  its  proceedings  remains. 

A  little  later,  September  13,  a  new  Court,  under  the  new  au- 
thoritv,  convened  at  Upland,  and  resumed  the  administration  of 


'■'''■'^J.^0 


;'/- 


.-\ncestral  Home  of  the  Lincolns 

Built  about  1725  by  the  great-great-grandfather 
of  President  Lincoln;  it  is  situated  about  eight 
miles  south  of  Reading.  From  a  sketch  in  pos- 
session of  D.  E.  Brinton 

justice  on  practically  the  same  lines  as  the  old  one.  Markham 
had  appointed  a  larger  number  of  justices;  the  two  Cocks,  and 
two  other  Swedes,  Swan  Swanson  and  Andreas  Bankson,  with 
Clayton,  Warner,  Wade,  \\'illiam  Biles,  and  Robert  Lucas,  sat  at 
the  first  Court;  while  at  the  next  one,  in  November,  Markham 
was  himself  present  and  also  Thomas  Fairman  and  James  Sandi- 
lands.  The  court  was  actingr  evidentlv  for  the  same  territory 
as  its  predecessor,  the  Upland  county  which  had  been  defined  in 
1677,  and  which  still  included  in  1682  all  the  settlements  then 
made,  from  Alarcus  Hook  upward  to  the  falls  at  Trenton. 


237 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

In  Aiig'iist  Markham  took  up  the  Ixisiness  of  the  Maryland 
boundary  line.  It  is  unlikely  that  he  had  an  adequate  idea  of  its 
complications  and  difficulties.  He  had  in  char^-e  two  letters  for 
Lord  Baltimore,  one  a  missive  from  the  King  himself,  and  the 
other  from  Penn.  Charles  advised  the  Maryland  Proprietary 
of  the  grant  he  had  made  to  Penn,  and  desired  him  to  appoint 
"with  all  convenient  speed"  a  person  or  persons  to  meet  Penn's 
representatives,  and  determine  the  location  of  their  boundary 
line.  After  organizing  his  government,  therefore,  as  the  Au- 
gust days  were  running  out,  and  the  malaria  of  autumn  was 
ready  to  rise  along  his  way,  Markham  set  off  for  Maryland,  and 
reaching  Lord  Baltimore's  house  on  the  Patuxent  late  in  the 
month,  presented  his  two  letters.  These  his  Lordship  only  read, 
and — according  to  his  own  account — assured  Markham  that 
proper  respect  would  be  given  them.  But  nothing  further  was 
accomplished  at  this  time.  Markham's  ride  had  been  too  much 
for  him.  "By  reason  of  the  great  heats,"  he  says,  he  fell  ill — 
experiencing  that  fever  of  the  country  which  the  Swedes  and 
Dutch  had  suffered  from — and  being  taken  into  Lord  Baltimore's 
house,  "continued  very  dangerously  so  for  the  space  of  three 
weeks  and  better."^  Recovering  at  last,  he  returned  to  Penn- 
sylvania, having  arranged  with  Lord  Baltimore  for  a  further 
meeting  on  the  i6th  of  October,  when  they  might  ascertain  the 
location  of  the  40th  degree  of  north  latitude.  Markham  agreed 
also  to  procure  from  Colonel  Lewis  Morris,  at  New  York,  "a  sex- 
tile  of  six  or  seven  foot  radius,"  to  take  the  necessary  observa- 

^The    successions   in    "the    peerage,"    with  2.     Cecilius,     2d    Baron,     ist   Proprietary, 

changes  of  titular  dignitaries,  are  confusing  He  received  the  grant,  under  date  June  20, 

to    the    republican    mind.     This    Lord    Balti-  1632.     He     died     1675.     He     never     visited 

more    in    whose    house    Markham    lay,    was  Maryland. 

Charles,    the    third    baron — son   of    Cecilius,  3.     Charles,    3d    Baron,    2d    Proprietary, 

son    of    George.     The     following    list    may  He  came  to  Maryland  in   1661,  as  Governor 

make  the  case  plain:  for    his    father,    was   absent    between    May, 

I.     George,  ist  Baron  Baltimore,  d.  April  1669,  and  November,  1670,  succeeded  to  the 

15,    1631-2.      (The    grant    of    Maryland    had  title   1675,  returned  to  England,  June,   1676, 

been    assured    him,    but    he    died    before    re-  came    again    to    Maryland,    1679,    and    acted 

ceiving   it.)  as   Governor   to    1684,    when   he    repaired   to 


238 


The  Beginnings  of   Penn's  Colony 

tions,  Colonel  Morris's  "being  ye  only  fitt  instrument  yt  could  be 
heard  of."  But  Markham  had  a  tedious  passage  up  the  Chesa- 
peake, and  wrote  on  the  25th  of  September  from  the  "head  of  the 
Bay,"  asking  for  more  tinie  to  send  to  Colonel  Morris  for  the 
sextile.  After  he  got  home  he  had  a  return  of  his  fever  and 
ague,  and  was,  he  says,  "very  ill,"  so  that  he  was  obliged  to  write 
Lord  Baltimore,  proposing  to  postpone  the  meeting  till  spring. 
It  happened  that  his  lordship  had  also  written.  October  8,  saying 
he  "c(Aild  not  come  up  that  year  for  fear  of  ye  ffrost,"  and  the  two 
letters  crossed  each  other  on  the  way.  The  business,  therefore 
went  over  to  next  year. 

Descriptions  of  Pennsylvania,  as  ^larkham  saw  it.  remain  to 
us  in  letters  sent  home  by  him  in  December  (1681).  They  are 
dated  at  Upland  on  the  7th  of  that  month.  "It  is  a  fine  coun- 
try," he  says,  "if  it  were  not  so  ovcrgrozini  with  zvoods,  and  very 
healthy.  Here  people  live  to  be  over  100  years  of  age."  Pro- 
visions are  "indifferent  plentiful,  venison  especially."  He  had 
seen  four  bucks  bought  for  less  than  five  shillings,  the  Indians 
killing  them  only  for  their  skins,  and  if  the  whites  would  not  buy 
the  carcass,  letting  it  "hang  and  rot  on  a  Tree."  W\](\  fowl  were 
plenty  in  winter;  partridges  he  was  "cloyed  with."  "In  the  fall 
of  the  leaf,  or  after  harvest,  here  are  abundance  of  wild  turkeys, 
which  are  mighty  easie  to  be  shot ;  ducks,  mallard,  geese,  and 
swans  in  abundance  wild;  fish  are  in  great  plenty."       He  found 

London  to  press  his  boundary  claims  against  running  of  the  boundary  line.  He  came 
Penn,  and  did  not  again  visit  Maryland.  to  Maryland  in  1736.  He  died  April.  1-51. 
He  d.  Feb.  20,  1714-15.  6.  Frederick,  6th  Baron,  5th  Proprietary. 
4.  Benedict  Leonard.  4th  Baron,  3d  It  was  he  whom  Lord  Chancellor  Hard- 
Proprietary.  He  was  nominally  Governor,  wick's  decision  compelled  to  keep  the 
1684,  upon  the  departure  of  his  father,  boundary  agreement  of  1732.  He  is  called 
though  W.  Hand  Browne  ("History  of  by  that  ardent  Maryland  partisan.  Prof. 
Maryland,"  p.  127),  says  he  was  never  in  Browne  ("History  of  Maryland,"  p.  217), 
Maryland.  He  survived  his  father  only  a  "a  selfish  and  grasping  voluptuary,  who 
few  weeks,  dying  April  5,  1715.  cared  only  for  his  province,  which  he  never 
S.  Charles,  sth  Baron,  4th  Proprietary.  visited,  as  a  source  of  revenue  for  his 
He  was  a  minor  at  his  father's  death.  It  pleasures."  His  death,  in  1771.  closed  the 
was  he  who  made,  in  1732,  the  agreement  list  of  tlie  Maryland  Lords  Baltimore, 
with    the    sons    of    William    Penn    for    the 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

"abundance  of  good  fruits;  all  sorts  of  apples,  cherries,  pears, 
good  plumbs,"  with  "peaches  as  good  as  any  in  the  world,  some 
they  feed  their  hoggs  with,  and  some  they  distill,  and  make  of  it  a 


^^i^ 


^^U^U</ 


Member  of  Governor's  Council,  1708;  speaker 
of  the  Assembly,  17 12;  mayor  of  Philadelphia, 
1724;  owner  of  Norristown 


sort  of  brandy."  ^Mulberries  were  abundant;  the  hogs  fed  on 
chestnuts  and  acorns;  grapes  grew  wild  in  the  W'Oods;  "mellons, 
both  mus  and  iK.'ater,  as  good  as  can  be."  In  fishing  sturgeon  were 
so  plenty  in  the  river  as  to  break  the  nets  put  out  for  smaller  fish 


240 


The  Beginnings  of   Penn's  Colony 

— "they  leap  into  the  boats  very  often."  ''We  have,"  he  adds, 
"very  good  horses,  and  the  men  ride  madly  on  them ;  they  make 
nothing  of  riding  eighty  miles,  and  when  they  get  to  their  jour- 
ney's end  turn  their  horses  into  a  field;  they  never  shoe  them." 

The  ships  that  are  said  to  have  come  this  autumn  to  the  Dela- 
ware have  already  been  named.  Whether  there  were  more  than 
two,  the  John  and  Sarah  and  the  Bristol  Factor,  is  doubtful.  The 
latter,  it  is  said  by  Proud,  came  to  Upland  on  the  nth  of  Decem- 
ber, "where  the  passengers,  seeing  some  houses,  went  on  shore, 
at  Robert  Wade's  landing,  near  the  lower  side  of  Chester  creek, 
and  the  river  having  froze  up  that  night,  the  passengers  remained 
all  w'inter." 

In  the  spring  the  new  life  of  the  young  colony  awoke  with 
vigor.  This  year,  1682,  stands  out  in  the  story  of  Pennsylvania 
as  the  time  of  her  heroic  and  hopeful  beginnings.  As  the  river 
cleared  of  ice,  the  three  commissioners,  Haige,  Allen,  and  Bezar, 
began  their  surveys  and  soundings  to  determine  the  location  of 
the  "capital  city."  Holme  had  not  yet  arrived,  but  Markham 
employed  Thomas  Fairman,  whose  house  at  Shackamaxon,  the 
best  probably  above  Upland,  was  used  as  a  boarding-place  and 
rendezvous.  An  account  against  Penn,  rendered  him  years 
afterward,  and  not  finally  settled  until  17 13,  gives  us  interesting 
clues  as  to  this.  Its  first  item,  in  1682,  is  "for  taking  the  courses 
and  the  sounding  of  the  channel  of  the  Delaware,  seven  weeks 
with  Captain  Markham,  £10,"  and  other  items  are:  "To  victuals 
and  drink  put  on  board  the  shallog  at  sundry  times.  £3.  To  my 
attendance  at  first  commission  with  \\''illiam  Hague,  Nat.  Allen, 
and  John  Beazor,  no  charge.  To  my  taking  the  courses  of 
Schuylkill,  etc.,  for  sounding  and  placing  Philadelphia  upon 
Schuylkill  river,  etc.,  £6.  To  lodging  Capt.  Markham  and  Wil- 
liam Hague  in  my  house,  with  diet  and  liquors  for  treats,  £7." 

That  the  site  of  the  city  was  chosen  without  long  delay,  after 
the  river  had  cleared  of  ice,  and  soundings  could  be  taken — in 
Fairman's  "shallop"  probably — seems  certain,   for  word  of  the 


■16 


241 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

place  decided  on  must  have  reached  London  by  July  14.  On 
that  date  James  Claypoole.  not  yet  ready  himself  to  depart,  wrote 
from  that  city:  "I  have  100  acres  where  our  Capitoll  City  is  to 
be,  upon  ye  River  near  Schoolkill  and  Peter  Cock's.  There  I  in- 
tend to  plant  and  build  my  house,"  etc.  It  does  not  seem  prob- 
able that  extended  consideration  would  be  given  to  any  other 
place  than  the  one  where  Philadelphia  now  stands.  Upland  had 
been  suggested  in  Penn's  instructions,  and  it  is  said  Pennsbury 
was  proposed,  but  the  junction  of  the  Schuylkill,  the  front  on  two 
rivers,  the  bold  shore  of  Coac[uanock  and  the  deep  channel  that 
flowed  before  it,  must  have  appealed  convincingly  to  Markham 
and  the  commissioners. 

Late  in  June,  Thomas  Holme  arrived  in  the  Amity.  He 
promptly  joined  the  other  commissioners  and  surveyors,  assum- 
ing the  leadership  in  the  work,  as  Surveyor-General. 

Following  the  selection  of  the  city's  site,  two  other  matters 
of  importance  engaged  Markham's  attention  before  Penn's  ar- 
rival— treaties  with  the  Lidians,  and  further  conferences  with 
Lord  Baltimore.  The  former,  in  our  histories,  is  usually  dealt 
with  briefl}^  There  is  in  the  State  archives  the  record  of  an  In- 
dian purchase  made  by  Markham,  on  the  15th  of  July  of  this 
year.  The  native  grantors  w^ere  Idquahon  and  thirteen  other 
chiefs  or  "sachemakers,"  whose  names,  phonetically  spelled,  it 
it  would  be  useless  to  give  here,  and  the  land  conveyed  included  all 
of  four  townships  and  parts  of  three  others  in  the  lower  end  of 
Bucks  county.  The  line  began  on  the  Delaware  "at  a  certain 
white  oak  in  the  land  now  in  the  tenure  of  John  Wood,  and  by 
him  called  the  Gray  Stones,  over  against  the  Falls  of  the  Dela- 
ware river,"  upward  "to  a  corner-marked  spruce  tree,  with  the 
letter  P,  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain,"  then  "along  by  the  ledge 
of  the  mountains  to  a  corner  white-oak,  marked  with  the  letter 
P,  standing  by  an  Indian  path  that  leads  to  an  Indian  town  called 
Playwickey,  and  near  the  head  of  a  creek  called  Towsissink,  and 
from  thence  went  to  the  creek  called  Neshamony's  ci"eek,"  down 

242 


The  Beginnings  of   Penn's  Colony 

that  stream  to  the  Delaware,  and  then  up  its  bank  to  John  Wood's 
white  oak.  The  upper  corner  on  the  river  was  near  Morrisville. 
where  John  Wood  was  a  land-owner;  the  corner  spruce  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountain  stood  on  Knowles  creek,  in  Upper  ]\Iake- 
field  township ;  the  stream  Towsissink  is  a  branch  of  Lahaska  creek. 

Markham  paid  the  Indians  for  this  three  hundred  guilders  in 
money,  and  a  long  list  of  the  articles  they  prized — three  hundred 
and  fifty  fathoms  of  wampum,  twenty  white  blankets,  twenty 
fathoms  of  "stroudwaters,"  sixty  fathoms  of  "duffields,"  and 
scores  of  kettles,  guns,  coats,  shirts,  hoes,  axes,  saws,  drawing 
knives,  barrels  of  powder,  bars  of  lead,  knives,  glasses,  pairs  of 
shoes,  copper  boxes,  tobacco-tongs,  pipes,  scissors,  combs,  awls, 
fish-hooks,  needles,  ankers  of  tobacco,  rum,  cider,  and  beer — a 
formidable  list  indeed,  and  such  as  would  have  made  Printz's 
heart  glad  if  he  had  had  half  as  much  for  the  fur  trade  at  Tinicum 
or  Christina,  thirty-five  years  before. 

Though  we  have  no  earlier  record  of  a  purchase  by  Mark- 
ham  from  the  Indians,  and  none  before  this  figures  in  Pennsyl- 
vania history  under  the  Penn  rule,  it  is  not  clear  that  there  was 
not  a  previous  purchase.  In  his  account,  later,  of  his  contro- 
versy with  Lord  Baltimore,  in  that  year.  Markham  says  that  on 
the  22d  of  May  he  received  a  letter  from  Baltimore  dated 
May  14,  proposing  a  meeting  "ye  beginning  of  ye  next  month." 
This,  Markham  says,  conflicted  with  his  business  engagements, 
"ye  which  at  that  time  was  very  urgent ;  for  liaveing  engaged  to 
pay  ye  Indians  for  the  loud  I  had  bought  of  them,  before  ye  mid- 
dle of  June,  in  expectation  of  which  they  deferr'd  their  hunting 
till  it  was  almost  too  late  for  that  year,'"  etc.,  etc.  This  is  cir- 
cumstantial. It  plainly  seems  not  to  refer  to  a  purchase  made 
so  late  as  July  15,  but  to  one  already  concluded  before  the  226. 
of  May — when  he  received  the  letter  from  Lord  Baltimore — and 
for  which  he  was  to  pay  the  Indians  before  June  15. 

If  there  was  such  an  earlier  purchase,  we  may  readily  presume 
it  to  have  covered  the  shore  of  the  river   south   of   the  purchase 

243 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

made  in  July — in  fact,  the  site  of  Philadelphia.  Alarkham 
notes  in  his  account  that  the  purchase  and  the  payment  to  be 
made  for  it  were  highly  important,  since  Penn's  plan  was  to  place 
no  settler  on  unljought  land.       Had  he  not,  then,  made  an  agree- 


Lo^an  Arms 


ment  for  Philadelphia  before  he  met  the  chiefs  to  buy  the  Bucks 
land? 

Some  time  after  Markham's  visit  to  ]\Iaryland,  and  his  illness 
there,  but  whether  in  the  autumn  of  that  year  (1681)  or  the  fol- 
lowing spring  is  not  certain,  William  Haige,  the  commissioner — 
as  Lord  Baltimore  relates — made  observations  "att  the  head  of 
the  Bay,"  and  subsequently  visited  Baltimore  at  his  house  on  the 
Patuxent  river.       There  his  lordship  questioned  him  closely,  ask- 

244 


The   Beginnings  of   Pcnn's  Colony 

ing  him  "whether  he  had  not  taken  Some  observations  at  Elk 
river  for  his  private  satisfaction."  which  Haige.  thus  pressed,  at 
last  "own'd."  kAit  said  that  the  instrument  he  used  "was  so  small 
there  could  be  no  C^lainty" — admitting  thus  that  the  observa- 
tions had  not  pleased  him.  and  indicating  that  he  found  the  head 
of  the  Chesai^eake  south  of  the  fortieth  parallel  of  latitude. 


Stenton 

The  Logan  homestead  near  Germantowti;  built 
1727.  Photographed  especially  for  this  work 
from  canvas  in   Historical   Society  of  Pennsyl- 


]\Iay  14  (1682)  Lord  Baltimore  wrote  Captain  ]\Iarkham  "to 
signifie  that  he  appointed  the  loth  of  June  to  meet  him  with  per- 
sons to  settle  the  bounds."  This  letter,  mentioned  above,  reached 
Markham  jMay  22.  He  was  then  absorbed  in  the  Indian  pur- 
chases. The  sextile  had  not  come- from  Xew  York.  He  wrote, 
therefore,  on  the  26th  of  ^lay.  asking  a  later  day  for  the  appoint- 
ment, and  sent  it  by  an  express,  going  himself  to  Xew  York  for 
the  instrument,  as  it  would  not  be  lent  unless  he  personally  bo- 
came  security  for  its  safe  return.  But  the  Maryland  Commis- 
sioners would  not — at  least  did  not — wait.       Riding  northward, 

245 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

they  halted  June  lo  at  Augustine  Herman's,  at  Bohemia  Manor, 
and  took  some  observations  there.  Then  they  came  on  to  New 
Castle,  where  they  found  a  sloop  from  New  York  lying  at  the 
river  bank,  with  Colonel  .Morris's  sextile  on  board.  Markham 
had  sent  it  around  by  water,  while  he  rode  overland.  He  had 
not  yet  arrived.  The  commissioners  demanded  the  sextile  of 
Cregier,  the  Dutch  "skipper"  of  the  sloop.  He,  let  us  hope,  de- 
murred.      The  audacity  of  the  demand  surely  cannot  be  denied. 

And  now,  while  Markham  is  riding  over  through  the  New 
Jersey  woods,  and  the  Maryland  men  are  arguing  with  Cregier, 
let  us  consider  more  precisely  what  the  Boundary  Dispute  was. 
The  subject  will  vex  our  narrative  at  intervals  for  eighty  years. 

There  were  two  definite  causes  of  difference  between  William 
Penn  and  Lord  Baltimore.  The  first  of  these  related  to  the  pro- 
prietorship of  the  Delaware  Colony,  called  later  the  "Three 
Lower  Counties,"  now  the  State  of  Delaware.  The  second  re- 
lated to  the  location  of  the  northern  boundary  of  Maryland — 
which  would  be  also  the  southern  line  of  Pennsylvania.  Both 
of  the  differences  grew  primarily  out  of  the  obscure  wording  of 
Lord  Baltimore's  grant,  and  its  obscurity  arose  from  the  imper- 
fect geographical  knowledge  of  America,  in  England,  in  1632, 
when  the  grant  was  made. 

As  to  the  Delaware  colony,  the  first  question  was  whether  it 
was  excluded  from  Lord  Baltimore's  grant  by  the  clause  "hac- 
temis  inciiha?"  Was  it  an  uncultivated  region,  inhabited  only 
by  "savages,"  when  the  Maryland  charter  was  drawn?  The 
answer  to  this  is  difficult.  De  Vries  had  planted  a  colony  there 
before  1632,  but  it  had  been  broken  up.  When  Lord  Baltimore 
received  his  parchment  it  is  unlikely  that  any  white  man  was  liv- 
ing on  the  west  bank  of  the  Delaware.  The  question,  there- 
fore, can  be  argued  either  way. 

//  Lord  Baltimore's  grant  extended  to  the  fortieth  parallel 
of  north  latitude,  wherever  that  might  be,  and  if  the  Delaware 
Colonv  was  not  excluded  from  his  p-rant  bv  the  clause  "hactenus 


te' 


246 


The  Beginnings  of   Penn's  Colony 

inculta,"  then  his  case  was  won  at  both  points.  But  in  each  par- 
ticular he  fell  short.  His  patent  did  not  say  that  his  grant  ex- 
tended to  the  fortieth  parallel.  It  said :  "and  between  that 
boundary  on  tlie  south  unto  that  part  of  tJie  bay  of  Delazvare  on 
the  north  zi'hich  licth  under  tJie  fortieth  degree  of  latitude,  where 
New  England  is  terminated.  .  .  and  passing  from  the  said 
Delaware  bay  in  a  right  line  with  the  degree  aforesaid." 

This  description,  it  will  be  seen,  is  a  limited  one.  It  does  not 
extend  ^.laryland  to  the  fortieth  parallel  unqualifiedly,  but  to  a 
"part"  of  Delaware  bay  lying  "under  the  fortieth  degree."  This 
was  exasperatingly  vague.  It  happens  that  no  part  of  Delaware 
bay  is  touched  by  the  fortieth  parallel.  Does  the  expression 
"under  the  fortieth  degree"  mean  the  space  north  of  the  thirty- 
nintJi  parallel?  This  suggestion  was  made  at  one  time,  in  the 
course  of  the  long  dispute.  Is  the  location  of  the  line  limited 
by  the  necessity  of  its  crossing  Delaware  bay?  That  also  was 
insisted  upon. 

The  fact  was  that  when  Lord  Baltimore  received  his  grant  it 
was  supposed  that  the  fortieth  parallel  crossed  Delaware  bay 
near  its  head,  probably  about  New  Castle.  The  maps  of  Captain 
John  Smith,  the  best  and  perhaps  the  only  ones  available  in  Eng- 
land when  that  charter  was  drawn,  suggest  this,  if  they  do  not 
definitely  show  it.  And  when  the  grant  to  Penn  was  drawn  up, 
and  it  was  provided  that  part  of  his  southern  boundary  should 
be  "a  circle  drawn  at  twelve  miles  distance  from  New  Castle 
northward  and  westward  unto  the  beginning  of  the  fortieth  de- 
gree of  northern  latitude,"  the  same  impression  prevailed.  It 
would  have  been  absurd  to  employ  this  description  had  it  then 
been  known  or  supposed  that  the  fortieth  degree  lay  far  more 
than  twelve  miles  north  of  New  Castle. 

As  to  the  condition  of  the  west  bank  of  the  Delaware  in  the 
year  1632,  argument  could  be  made  either  way,  as  has  already 
been  said.  But  it  was  undeniable  that  frnm  the  dav  of  De  Vries 
and  Swanendael  on  down,  there  had  l)een  an  almost  continuous 

247 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 


occupancy  by  white  men,  a  possession  adverse  to  Lord  Baltimore. 
A  government  had  been  definitely  established  and  regularly  ad- 
ministered, and  except  in  the  demand  of  Colonel  Utie,  in  1659, 
and  the  lawless  raid  of  his  men  at  the  Horekill  later,  Baltimore 
had  suffered  this  to  exist  and  grow  without  serious  challenge.  To 
hand  the  Delaw'are  colony  over  to  him,  in  1682,  would  have  been 
to  ignore  and  reverse  the  course  of  half  a  century. 


Lesser  Seal  of  Province 

It  may  be  asked  here,  What  did  Lord  Baltimore  mean  when 
he  proposed  to  the  Committee  of  Trade  and  Plantations,  in  1680, 
that  Penn's  southern  line  be  drawn  at  "the  Susquehanna  Fort?" 
and  what  did  Penn  mean  by  acceding  to  that  suggestion?  It  is 
impossible  to  say,  because  we  do  not  know  what  place  either  of 
them  had  in  mind.  The  palisaded  town  of  the  Susquehannocks, 
we  have  seen,  was  probably  north  of  the  present  line  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, but  several  witnesses  afterward — about  1735 — testified  in 
the  suit  in  chancery  over  the  boundary,  that  there  was  formerly 
an  Indian  fort  on  the  Susquehanna,  at  the  junction  of  the  Cone- 
wago — the  lower  stream  of  that  name — in  what  is  now  Cecil 
county,  Maryland.  Perhaps  that  "fort"  w-as  the  one  Penn  had 
in  mind. '^  A  line  drawn  east  and  west  through  it  would  pass  just 
north  of  New  Castle. 

248 


The  Beginnings  of   Penn's  Colony 

In  the  long  run  there  was  nothing  practicahle  in  a  case  of  such 
complication  hut  to  have  a  tribunal  of  competent  jurisdiction  de- 
cree a  solution,  or  for  the  parties  themselves  to  agree  on  one. 
Both  of  these  things  finally  happened.  As  to  the  Delaware  Col- 
ony the  royal  privy  council  decided  in  1685,  and  again  in  1709. 
that  Lord  Baltimore  had  not  a  good  claim  to  it,  and  as  to  the 
boundary  between  IMaryland  and  Pennsylvania  it  was  settled  by 
agreement  of  the  Penn  heirs,  and  the  Lord  Baltimore  of  the 
time,  in  1732,  and  the  Lord  Chancellor  of  England,  in  1750,  de- 
creed a  "specific  performance"'  of  the  contract  thus  made — all  of 
which,  in  due  time,  this  narrative  will  record.  In  each  instance 
Penn  and  his  heirs  won  their  whole  case.  The  Lower  Counties 
were  awarded  him.  The  southern  line  of  Pennsylvania  was  run 
where  he  would  have  been  satisfied  to  have  it  from  the  very  outset 
of  the  dispute.  Lord  Baltimore  gained  nothing  by  the  long  con- 
troversy. And  indeed,  we  may  remark  one  thing  here :  that 
Pennsyh'ania  was  assailed  on  three  sides,  south,  west,  and  north, 
about  her  boundary;  ^Nlarvland,  \'irginia,  and  Connecticut  all  be- 
set  her ;  and  in  every  case  she  won  all  she  claimed.  Her  neigh- 
bors' covetous  encroachments  came  utterly  to  naught  in  the  end. 

Knowing  all  this,  as  we  now  do,  after  two  hundred  years,  we 
can  regard  with  composure  what  Markham  then  could  not.  the 
surrender  of  the  sextile  in  his  absence  to  the  Maryland  men,  at 
New  Castle.  "With  some  difl^culty  and  many  entreaties,''  they 
prevailed  on  the  captain,  they  took  the  instrument  off  the  sloop, 
they  set  it  up.  and  "in  a  very  Cleer  day,  being  on  the  27th  of  June, 
1682,  they  found  the  Latitude  of  the  place  of  observation,  which 
was  in  the  Towne  of  New  Castle,  to  be  thirty-nine  degrees,  forty- 
nine  minutes." 

Upon  this  the  Commissioners  waited  no  longer  for  Markham. 
but  rode  away  homeward.  Next  day  he  reached  New  Castle. 
To  say  that  he  was  chagrined  and  indignant  is  to  describe  his 
state  of  mind  feebly.  He  says  the  Commissioners  "did  by  ye 
means  of  the  Dutch  inhabitants  of  ye  Towne  procure  the  Master 

249 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and    Federal 

(he  being  a  Dutch  niaiij  to  Ijring  it  |  the  sextile]  on  shoare,  and 
there  they  used  it  ...  a  Confidence  I  never  mett  the  like — 
to  dare  to  touch  an  Instrument  that  was  to  be  used  by  the  Con- 
trarie  parties,  and  so  privately  that  no  ffriend  of  ours  was  by." 

In  September  the  subject  was  resumed.  Lord  Baltimore 
now  came  himself  to  Upland  with  an  imposing  retinue.  Those 
attending  him  included  Colonel  Onirsey,  Major  Seawell,  Major 
Sawyer,  four  Commissioners,  "and  forty  men  Armed  with  Car- 
bines, pistolls  and  Swords !"  They  rode  by  way  of  New  Castle, 
and  lodged  at  Upland  the  night  of  the  23d,  Lord  Baltimore  at 
the  hospitable  house  of  Robert  Wade,  where  Markham  usually 
made  his  home  when  in  the  town.  The  next  day,  the  24th,  was 
the  Sabbath,  and  Markham  was  expecting  to  observe  it,  consider- 
ing it  not  "a  day  of  business,"  but  the  Marylanders  insisted  upon 
going  on  with  the  observations.  An  instrument  which  had  been 
sent  over  by  Penn  w^as  at  hand,  but  Markham  said  that  it  was  not 
in  order  for  use.  The  one  borrowed  from  Colonel  Morris  was 
therefore  procured;  it  was  "brought  forth,"  Baltimore's  narrative 
says,  "by  one  Richard  Noble,  a  Quaker,  who  sett  the  same  up 
and  it  being  a  very  clear  day  observation  was  taken  therewith  by 
the  said  Noble,  as  likewise  by  those  Artists  the  Lord  Baltimore 
had  with  him,  and  they  all  agreed  that  ye  Latitude  of  Upland 
was  by  the  Sextile  of  Coll.  Morris  in  39  degrees,  47  minutes,  and 
five  seconds."  Thereupon  Lord  Baltimore  formally  declared 
that  he  claimed  Upland  to  be  within  his  grant,  and  desired  "to 
g(je  further  up  the  river"  to  fix  the  fortieth  parallel,  "wherever 
it  was  to  be  found."  To  this  demand  Markham  refused  assent. 
He  produced  Penn's  grant,  "under  the  great  scale  of  England," 
and  showed  that  it  gave  him  "from  twelve  miles  distance  north- 
ward of  New  Castle  Towne."  But,  said  Lord  Baltimore,  the 
king  could  not  give  this  away;  his  father  had  already  granted  it 
to  my  father.  To  which  Markham  replied  that  it  was  not  for 
him  to  presume  the  king  had  made  a  mistake ;  he  was  there  by  the 
royal  authority,  and  it  was  his  duty  to  maintain  what  had  been 

250 


The  Betrinnings  of  Penn's  Colony 

placed  in  his  charge.  The  discussion  degenerated  into  some- 
thing of  a  wrangle.  One  of  the  Maryland  Commissioners  de- 
manded how  a  twelve-mile  circle  from  New  Castle  could  be 
drawn  to  touch  the  fortieth  parallel,  and  when  Markham  essayed 
an  explanation,  some  of  them  jeeringly  remarked,  "His  Majesty 
must  have  long  compasses !"  To  which  Markham  rejoined  that 
"he  hoped  they  would  not  limmet  his  Majesty's  Compasses !" 

The  upshot  of  the  meeting  was  a  flat  defiance  on  both  sides. 
Baltimore  pressed  his  demand  to  go  further  north,  to  establish 
the  parallel,  and  Markham  again  refused.  Then,  said  Balti- 
more, give  me  your  refusal  in  writing,  to  which  ]Markham 
agreed.  The  letter,  written  later,  says :  "My  Lord,  this  is  mv 
reason,  that  as  I  received  all  yt  part  of  the  river  Delaware  begin- 
ning 12  miles  above  New  Castle  Towne  and  so  uppwards  ffrom 
the  Government  of  New  York,  which  is  according  to  the  Express 
words  of  his  Majesty's  Letters  Patent  to  our  Proprietary,  Wil- 
liam Penn  Esquire,  I  most  humbly  conceive  that  I  am  not  to  be 
accomptable  to  any  other  person  than  his  Majesty  or  Royall 
Highness  for  any  part  of  this  Province  lying  upon  Delaware 
river  and  soe  bounded."  He  added,  verbally,  that  he  "would 
keep  it  untill  his  Master  Penn's  arrival,  which  he  did  not  doubt 
would  be  very  shortly,  and  desired  his  lordship  would  refer  all 
to  his  Coming." 

Lord  Baltimore,  however,  would  refer  nothing.  He  set  off 
with  his  party  southward.  Taking  boat  at  Upland,  he  "went 
to  Markiss  Hook  at  Chichester,  and  there  went  ffrom  house  to 
house,  prohibiting  the  inhabitants  to  pay  any  more  quitt  rents  to 
Mr.  Penn.  as  the  land  was  his,  and  that  he  would  suddenly  re- 
turne  and  take  possession  of  it."  Thence  he  proceeded  in  his 
boat  to  New  Castle,  and  from  there  rode  back  to  Maryland.  He 
waited,  he  says,  two  days  at  New  Castle  for  Markham  to  confe'r 
further,  and  Markham,  in  his  "Account,"  says  he  would  liave 
eone  down  to  see  Lord  Baltimore,  but  the  members  of  his  Coun- 
cil  dissuaded  him,  urging  that  nothing  useful  was  likely  to  result 

251 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

from  further  conference.  Their  advice  \vas  no  doubt  good ; 
W'ilham  Penn  was  now  half  way  across  the  Atlantic,  and  no  one 
was  so  competent  as  himself  to  (hrect  his  side  of  the  controversy. 


Original  Log  College  Building 

In  1 72 1,  Rev.  William  Tennent  established  a 
small  school  at  Bensalem;  later  he  moved  to 
Neshamiry  and  in  1727  had  built  for  college 
work  the  log  cabin  shown.  From  this  begin- 
ning has  developed  Princeton  University.  The 
illustration  is  from  the  Presbytery  of  the  Log 
College,  by  Thomas  ]Murphy,  D.  D. 

The  ship  in  which  the  Proprietary  and  Governor  was  now 
approaching  the  Delaware  capes  is  that  one  which  especially  rep- 
resents for  Pennsylvania  the  romance  of  its  colonial  beginnings. 
She  was  the  JVelcoiiie,  a  vessel  of  about  three  hundred  tons.  Her 
master  was  Robert  Greenaway.  She  had  embarked  her  passen- 
gers, about  one  hundred  in  num1)er,  at  London,  late  in  August, 
and  falling  down  the  Thames,  had  cleared  from  the  mouth  of  the 


252 


The   Beginnings  of   Pcnn's  Colony 

river  on  the  last  day  of  the  month,  and  spread  her  sails  for  the 
western  world.  Penn  was  of  course  the  chief  figure  on  board, 
the  leader  to  whom  all  turned.  But  we  know  little  of  the  details 
of  the  voyage.  Storms  they  escaped,  but  not  the  ravages  of  dis- 
ease. The  small-pox,  scourge  of  that  day  and  of  a  century 
thereafter,  until  Tenner's  great  discovery,  broke  out  on  board. 
Men,  women  and  children  died,  and  their  bodies  were  sadly  com- 
mitted to  the  deep.  Four  men,  John  Barber,  Thomas  Heriott, 
Isaac  Ingram,  and  \\'illiam  Wade,  made  their  wills  on  board,  and 
these  were  proved  when  the  ship  arrived  from  Philadelphia,  so 
that  we  count  them  from  this  evidence  as  among  the  dead. 
Thomas  Fitzwater,  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Assembly  the 
next  year,  lost  his  wife  Mary  and  two  children,  Josiah  and  Mary. 
Altogether,  according  to  the  account  of  Richard  Townsend,  of 
London,  one  of  the  company,  "about  thirty"  died.  There  were 
births  also;  two  young  infants  were  carried  on  shore  when  the 
ship  landed;  to  Evan  Oliver  and  his  wife  Jean  was  added  Sea- 
born, a  daughter,  born  at  sea,  October  24.  ''almost  within  sight 
of  the  Capes  of  the  Delaware,"  and  to  Richard  Townsend  and 
his  wife  Anne,  a  son,  James,  born  after  the  ship  had  come  into 
Delaware  bay.  Penn  himself  escaped  the  infection  of  the  small- 
pox, and  labored  assiduously  to  comfort  and  encourage  his  afflict- 
ed companions  in  the  crowded  little  ship.  "His  singular  care," 
says  Richard  Townsend,  "was  manifested  in  contributing  to  the 
necessities  of  many  who  were  sick  of  the  small-pox,  then  on 
board,  out  of  which  company  about  thirty  died."  His  "good 
conversation,"  he  adds,  "was  very  advantageous  to  all  the  com- 
pany." 

The  voyage  was  of  about  the  average  length  for  a  ship  of  that 
day.  Practically  two  months  passed  from  the  departure  from 
the  Thames  to  the  arrival  at  New  Castle,  but  nearly  a  fortnight 
of  this  had  been  spent  in  passing  around  the  southern  coast  of 
England.  In  a  letter  w-ritten  by  Penn  after  his  arrival,  he  said, 
"that  day  six  weeks  they  lost  sight  of  land  in  England  they  saw 

253 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

it  again  in  America ;  and  being  about  twelve  leagues  off  from  the 
coast  the  air  smelled  as  sweet  as  a  garden  new  blown." 

On  what  day  the  Welcome  came  inside  the  capes  is  not  pre- 
cisely known,  but  the  24th  of  October  is  the  date  commonly  as- 
signed. Penn's  letter  just  cited  says — according  to  Philip 
Ford's  summary :  "As  they  sailed  up  the  river  the\  received 
visits  and  invitations  from  the  inhabitants,  the  people  being  joy- 
ful to  see  him ;  both  Dutch,  Swedes  and  English  coming  up  to 
New  Castle,  they  received  and  entertained  him  with  great  ex- 
pressions of  joy  after  their  sort."  The  records  of  New  Castle 
County  (Delaware)  show  that  October  27  the  Welcome  came  be- 
fore New^  Castle  town.  Penn  did  not  immediately  land,  but  sent 
a  messenger  ashore  to  notify  the  two  commissioners,  John  Moll 
and  Ephraim  Herman,  whom  the  Duke  of  York,  in  the  deeds  of 
release  and  feoffment  to  Penn,  had  authorized  to  make  delivery 
of  his  rights.  Herman  was  absent,  but  Moll  came  on  board  the 
ship,  inspected  the  deeds,  and  was  satisfied  of  their  significance. 

Next  day,  the  28th,  Penn  landed.  The  settlers  had  been 
summoned,  and  had  gathered  in  to  look  upon  this  new  ruler,  the 
Quaker  who  claimed  authority  as  against  Lord  Baltimore. 
Swedes  were  there  who  had  seen  Printz,  if  not  Minuit,  and  many, 
Swedish  and  Dutch,  who  remembered  Stuyvesant's  campaign 
against  Risingh  in  1655,  and  Carr's  swoop  upon  D'Hinoyossa  in 
1664.  By  formal  ceremony,  Moll  and  Herman  now  delivered 
the  toW'U  and  the  twelve  miles  surrounding  it  to  Penn.  Going 
to  the  little  "fort,"  they  handed  him  the  key,  "to  lock  upon  him- 
self alone  the  door,  which  being  opened  by  him  again  they  did 
deliver  also  unto  him  one  turf,  with  a  twig  upon  it,  a  porringer 
with  river  water  and  soil."  Then  the  settlers  gathered  at  "the 
court-house,"  and  Penn  "made  a  speech  to  the  old  Magistrates 
and  the  people,"  explaining  his  plans  and  assuring  all  "of  their 
spiritual  and  temporal  rights,  liberty  of  conscience  and  civil  free- 
doms." All  he  "prayed,  expected,  or  required"  of  them,  he 
said,  was  "sobriety  and  loving  neighborhood." 

254 


The   Beginnings  of   Penn's  Colony 

The  delivery  of  the  remainder  of  the  Delaware  colony,  under 
the  other  of  the  two  deeds  from  the  Duke,  was  made  to  Markham 
as  Penn's  representative,  by  Moll  and  Herman,  on  the  7th  of  the 
next  mniitli.  "at  the  house  of  Captain  Edward  Cantwell.  at  the 
south  side  of  Appoquinimy  Creek." 

Leaving  New  Castle,  the  JJ'clcoiiic  came  on  up  the  river.  On 
the  following  day,  the  29th,  she  lay  before  Upland.  Penn  went 
ashore,  and  for  the  first  time  set  foot  in  his  Province.  His  boat 
brought  him  to  the  beach  in  front  of  Robert  Wade's  house — 
already  well  known  to  us — and  the  hospitable  doors  of  the  man- 
sion swung  wide  to  welcome  him.^  At  Upland  he  remained  a 
day  or  two.  Letters  and  documents  signed  by  him  are  dated 
there  on  October  29  and  on  November  i.  On  the  2d  of  No- 
vember he  was  at  New  Castle,  attending  the  sitting  of  the  jus- 
tices. 

That  Penn  changed  the  name  of  Upland  to  Chester  soon  after 
his  arrival  there,  and  at  the  suggestion  of  a  passenger  on  the  [fV/- 
conie  named  Pearson,  has  long  been  an  accepted  and  accredited 
story.  It  is,  however,  very  dubious,  and  probably  not  true.  No 
such  person  as  Pearson  can  be  identified  as  a  friend  or  companion 
of  Penn,  or  as  a  passenger  on  the  JJ'clcoiiic.  It  is  true  that  the 
name  of  the  town  was  changed,  and  unquestionably  it  was  done 
by  Penn's  order.  The  time  is  pretty  definitely  shown.  Penn's 
letter  home,  November  i,  1682,  refers  to  the  place  as  Upland, 
but  that  of  December  16  following  contains  the  phrase.  "Chester 
alias  Upland."  Confining  the  change  within  still  narrower 
bounds,  Penn's  writ  to  the  sheriffs  of  the  lower  counties,  convok- 
ing the  first  Assembly,  dated  November  8,  summons  the  dele- 
gates to  meet  "at  Upland,"  but  the  certification  of  the  laws,  over 
the  signature  of  Penn,  as  Governor,  Deceml)er  7,  is  "Given  at 

'Wade's  house   stood   at   what   is   now   the  Penn's   landing   was   marked,    in   the   middle 

northwest  corner  of  Penn  and  Front  streets.  of  the    19th  century,  by  a  pine-tree,  planted 

in   the   city  of   Chester.     "It   stood,   though  under    the    auspices   of    John    M.    Broomall 

in     ruins,     until     about      1800."      (Martin,  (afterwards  Member  of  Congress),  and  the 

"History  of  Chester.")     The  exact  spot  of  Historical   Society   of   Pennsylvania. 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 


The   Bartram   House 

Home  of  John  Bartram;  physician;  author; 
founder  in  1728  of  the  iirst  botanical  garden  in 
the  United  States;  house  built  1731.  Photo  by 
J.   F.  Sachse 

Chester,  alias  Upland."       The  old  Swedish  name    of    the  town 
thus  ended,  and  the  English  one  was  assumed. 

Precisely  when  Penn  proceeded  to  Philadelphia  is  uncertain. 
We  have  seen  that  on  the  29th  of  October  and  the  ist  of  Novem- 
ber he  was  writing  letters  at  Chester,  and  on  the  2d  of  Novem- 
ber was  at  the  Court  at  New  Castle.  Thus  he  may  have  visited 
Philadelphia  on  October  29  or  30,  or  on  November  3,  or  a  later 
dav.  He  would  have  been  eager,  certainlv,  to  see  the  "capital 
city." 

256 


The  Beginnings  of   Penn's  Colony 

The  traditions  have  always  described  him  as  going  up  from 
Chester  in  an  open  boat,  or  barge,  and  as  landing  at  Philadelphia 
at  the  place  where  Dock  creek  emptied  into  the  river.  This  was 
the  "public  landing  place"  of  a  somewhat  later  time.  On  the 
bank  near  by  was  a  little  tavern,  the  "Blue  Anchor,"  kept  then 
by  William  Dare,  a  "master  mariner,"  and  subsequently  by 
George  Bartholomew— perhaps  also  by  Alice  Guest,  and  ever 
since  a  familiar  place  in  the  early  history  of  Philadelphia. 

At  the  beginning  of  November,  1682,  when  he  stepped  upon 
the  bank-side  at  Philadelphia,  William  Penn  was  a  little  more 
than  thirty-eight  years  old.  He  had  passed  his  birthday  on  the 
ocean  a  fortnight  before.  His  feelings,  as  he  reached  the  site 
of  his  city,  we  may  imagine.  Its  name,  if  unknown  to  others,  he 
had  himself  determined,  for  in  a  letter  which  he  addressed  two 
years  later  to  the  colonists  he  uses  the  expression,  "And  thou, 
Philadelphia,  the  virgin  settlement  of  this  province,  named  before 
thou  zuast  born}  " 

He  led  the  way  up  the  river  bank  to  the  little  tavern  with 
emotions  that  may  well  have  moved  his  large  and  generous  heart. 
The  plans  he  had  evolved,  the  hopes  he  had  indulged,  for  this 
"holy  experiment"  of  Pennsylvania,  appeared  now  to  give  prom- 
ise of  fruition. 

We  have  seen  that  the  city  had  been  laid  out  by  the  Commis- 
sioners during  the  summer,  before  Penn's  arrival.  His  instruc- 
tions to  them,  given  nearly  a  year  before,  had  been  in  the  main 
followed.  But  he  had  conceived  his  plan  of  the  city  on  quite  too 
generous  a  scale.  They  had  found  it  impossible  to  lay  out  the 
ten  thousand  acres  he  had  proposed,  and  had  contented  them- 
selves with  about  twelve  hundred  and  eighty.  The  plotting 
had  been  directed  by  Thomas  Holme,  and  drawings  of  it,  pub- 
lished in  London  in  1683,  and  since  then  many  times  reproduced, 

'That  Philadelphia's  name  came  from  the  brotherly  love — was  very  likely  to  corn- 
city  of  Asia  Minor,  mentioned  in  the  Apoc-  mend  it  to  Penn. — See  Note  in  "Memorial 
alypse,  is  most  probable.  But  the  meaning  History  of  Philadelphia,"  H.  M.  Jenkins, 
of    the    Greek    words    forming    the    name —  Vol.  I.,  p.  36. 

I-17  257 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

show  the  city  extending  from  the  Delaware  to  the  Schuylkill,  and 
from  Vine. street  to  South.  This  was  the  "old  city"  or  "city 
proper"  of  Philadelphia  from  1682  to  the  "consolidation"  of 
1854,  when  the  municipal  limits  were  extended  to  cover  the 
whole  county.  Philadelphia  was  thus  made  slightly  over  two 
miles  long,  from  east  to  west,  and  rather  more  than  one  mile  from 
north  to  south.  Half  way  between  the  rivers  was  the  Broad 
street,  one  hundred  feet  wide,  and  where  the  High  street  (now 
Market)  crossed  this  a  public  square  of  ten  acres  was  reserved,  "at 
each  angle  to  build  houses  for  public  affairs" — "the  state-house, 
the  market-house,  school-house  and  chief  meeting-house  of  the 
Quakers,"  as  Oldmixon,  writing  twenty-five  years  later,  ex- 
plained. Four  other  public  squares,  "in  each  quarter  of  the 
city,"  known  to  us  as  Washington,  Franklin.  Logan  and  Ritten- 
house  squares,  were  reserved  as  well,  "to  be  for  the  like  uses  as 
Moorfields,  in  London." 

Few  of  the  liouses  of  the  new  city  could  have  been  actually 
built  when  Penn  arrived.  Some  had  been  begun.  To  clear 
the  title  to  the  whole  of  the  city  plot  arrangements  were  made 
with  those  of  the  Swedes  who  had  secured  grants  within  it  to 
give  those  up  and  take  other  land.  The  situation  about  Phila- 
delphia, as  the  immigrants  who  came  at  the  close  of  the  summer 
(1682)  saw  it  may  be  learned  from  the  letter  of  Edward  Jones. 
a  Welsh  physician^ — a  "chirurgeon,"  in  the  phrase  of  his  day — 
who  arrived  in  the  ship  Lyon,  John  Compton  master.  This 
ship  had  cleared  from  Liverpool  and  reached  Upland  about  the 
middle  of  August  (1682),  after  a  voyage  of  eleven  weeks  from 
land  to  land,  and  one  more  coming  up  the  Delaware.  "It  was 
not  for  want  of  art,  but  contrary  winds"  that  the  voyage  was  so 

'Dr.  Edward  Jones  was  an  interesting  married  John  Cadwalader,  and  was  thus 
figure  of  the  settlement  period.  He  was  the  ancestress  of  the  family  of  that  name; 
the  son-in-law  of  Dr.  Thomas  Wynne,  who  his  (Edward's)  son,  Jonathan  Jones,  was 
came  in  the  Welcome  with  Penn,  and  who  the  father  of  Owen  Jones,  who  was  Pro- 
was  the  Speaker  of  the  Assembly,  1683-4,  vincial  Treasurer  of  Pennsylvania  from  1769 
and  later.   Edward  Jones's  daughter  Martha  to   1776. 

258 


The  Beginnings  of   Penn's  Colony 

long.  The  supplies  of  food  held  out,  however.  "We  wanted," 
Edward  Jones  says,  "neither  meate,  drink,  or  water.  .  . 
Our  ordinary  allowance  of  heer  was  3  pints  a  day  for  each  whole 
head,  and  a  quart  of  water,  3  biskedd  a  day  and  sometimes  more. 
We  have  oatmeal  to  spare,  l)ut  it  is  well  yt  we  have  it,  for  here  is 
little  or  no  corn  [wheat]  till  they  begin  to  sow."  None  died  on 
the  voyage,  he  says,  "save  one  child"  and  it  "of  a  surfeit." 

"We  are  short  of  our  expectation"  he  goes  on  to  say,  "by  rea- 
son that  the  town  is  not  to  be  builded  at  Upland,  neither  would 
ye  master  bring  us  any  further,  though  it  is  navigable  for  ships 
of  greater  burthen  than  ours.  Ye  name  of  [the]  town  lots  is 
called  \\'icaco;  here  is  a  crowd  of  people  striving  for  ye  country 
land,  for  ye  town  lot  is  not  divided,  and  therefore  we  are  forced 
to  take  up  the  country  lots.  We  had  much  ado  to  get  a  grant 
of  it;  it  costs  us  4  or  5  days  attendance,  besides  some  score  of 
miles  we  traveled  before  we  brought  it  to  pass.  I  hope  it  will 
please  thee  and  the  rest  yt  are  concerned,  for  it  hath  most  rare 
timber,  I  have  not  seen  the  like  in  all  these  parts. ^  There  is  water 
enough  besides;  the  end  of  each  lot  will  be  on  a  river  as  large  or 
larger  than  the  Dye  [Dee]  at  Bala  [Wales].  It  is  to  be  called 
Skool  Kill.  .  .  The  people  generally  are  Swede.  .  .  We 
are  amongst  the  English,  which  sent  us  both  venison  and  new 
milk,  and  the  Indians  brought  venison  to  our  door  for  six  pence 
ye  quarter.  .  .  There  are  stones  enough  to  be  had  at  the  falls 
of  the  Skool  Kill,  that  is  where  we  are  to  settle,  and  water  enough 
for  mills,  but  thou  must  bring  Millstones  and  ye  irons  yt  belong 
to  it,  for  Smiths  are  dear.  Iron  is  about  two  and  thirty,  or  forty 
shillings  per  hundred,  steel  about  is.  6d.  per  pound  .  .  .  grin- 
die  stones  yield  good  profit  here.  Ordinary  workmen  hath  is. 
6d.  a  day,  carpenters  3  or  4  shillings  a  day.  Here  are  sheep,  but 
dear,  about  20  shillings  apiece.       I  cannot  understand  liow  they 

'Ue  is  describing  the  tract  in  the  present        as  that  of  "lidward  Jones  and  Company,   17 
township  of  Lower  Marion,  in  Montgomery        Families." 
county;  it  appears  on  Thomas  Holme's  map 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

can  be  carried  from  England.  .  .  .  Taylors  hath  5s.  and  6s. 
a  day.  .  .  I  Avoukl  liave  thee  bring  salt  for  ye  present  use; 
here  is  coarse  salt,  sometimes  two  measures  of  it  for  one  of 
wheat,  and  sometimes  very  dear.  .  .  .  Horse  shoes  are  in  no 
use Good   large   shoes   are  dear;   lead   in   small  bars   is 


Kelso  Ferry  House  opposite  Harrisburg 

Built  1732;  oldest  house  west  of  the  Susque- 
hanna river  now  standing.  From  photo  in  pos- 
session of  Historical  Society  of  Dauphin  Coun- 
ty,  Pennsylvania 

vendible,  but  guns  are  cheap  enough.  .  .  .  They  use  both  hooks 
and  sickles  to  reap  with." 

Of  the  seventy  or  more  passengers,  men,  women  and  children, 
who  landed  from  the  Welcome  at  Upland  or  at  Philadelphia,  a 
few  may  have  found  shelter  in  their  own  homes.  Some  months 
earlier  Penn  had  sent  out  a  pamphlet  describing  minutely  the  con- 
struction of  log  houses ;  one  of  these,  he  said,  thirty  feet  by 
eighteen,  might  be  cut  from  the  woods  and  made  ready  for  occu- 
pancy, in  six  weeks.       Some  such  huts  were  probably  to  be  seen 

260 


The  Beginnings  of   Penn's  Colony 

in  Philadelphia,  as  winter  set  in.  But  most  of  the  newly  arrived 
people  must  have  heen  taken  in  by  the  older  settlers,  while  some, 
it  is  probable,  found  shelter  in  caves  dug  in  the  bank  of  the  Dela- 
ware. These  caves  were  a  feature  of  Philadelphia  for  years 
afterward.  The  letter  of  Penn  from  Upland,  November  i  (as 
summarized  by  Philip  Ford),  says.  ''The  city  of  Philadelphia  is 
laid  out,  and  many  pretty  houses  are  up  of  late,  upon  the  river 
and  backwards  that  do  very  well.  An  house  for  W.  Penn  is 
a-building."  But  this  description  must  not  be  taken  too  liter- 
ally. It  does  appear  that  Penn  lived  in  a  house  of  his  own  be- 
fore the  summer  of  1683^  and  it  is  probable  that  the  other  "pretty 
houses,''  actually  in  occupancy  in  the  autumn  of  1682,  were 
few. 

The  cordiality  of  the  old  settlers  has  already  been  mentioned. 
We  have  every  reason  to  suppose  that  all  hopefully  and  cheer- 
fully welcomed  the  change  of  rule.  There  were  now  nearly  a 
thousand  of  the  Swedish  blood.  Penn,  in  his  letter  of  descrip- 
tion a  year  after  his  arrival,  says :  "The  Dutch  applied  them- 
selves to  traffic,  the  Swedes  and  Friends  to  Husbandry.  .  .  . 
The  Swedes  inhabit  the  freshes  of  the  River  Delaware.  There 
is  no  need  of  giving  any  description  of  them,  who  are  better 
known  in  England  than  here ;  but  they  are  a  plain,  strong,  indus- 
trious people,  yet  have  made  no  great  progress  in  the  culture  nr 
propagation  of  fruit  trees,  as  if  they  desired  to  have  enough. 
rather  than  plenty  for  traffic.  As  they  are  a  people  proper  and 
strong  of  body,  so  have  they  fine  children,  and  almost  every  house 
full ;  rare  to  find  one  of  them  without  three  or  four  boys,  and  as 
many  girls;  some  six,  seven,  and  eight  sons.  And  I  must  do 
them  the  justice  to  say  that  I  find  few  young  men  more  sober  and 
industrious." 

•The  house  that  was  "a-building"  was  the  bounded  by  Market,  Chestnut,  Front  and 
little  brick  dwelling,  called  the  "Letitia  Second  streets,  and  was  at  last  (1884)  re- 
House"  (from  Letitia  Penn's  subsequent  moved  to  Fairmount  Park,  where  it  now 
ownership),  which  stood  for  two  hundred  stands.  It  is  said  to  have  been  the  first 
years    nearly    in    the    center    of    the    block  house  in  the  city  that  had  a  cellar. 

261 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

Giving  his  time  and  energy  now,  first  of  all,  to  the  affairs  of 
his  Colon}-,  the  recorded  activities  of  the  Governor  and  Proprie- 
tary for  the  next  year  and  a  half  are  nearly  identical  with  the  his- 
tory of  Pennsylvania  itself.  With  little  delay,  after  coming  to 
Philadelphia,  inspecting  the  plans  of  the  city,  and  ordering  some 
changes — expediting  some  business  whose  delays  troubled  Ed- 
ward Jones — Penn  went  to  New  York  to  visit  Captain  Brockholls, 
the  deputy  governor  there,  as  an  act  of  respect  to  the  Duke  of 
York  and  of  neighborly  civility.  He  took  with  him  the  deeds 
of  the  Duke  for  the  Delaware  territory,  and  they  were  placed  on 
record  there,  and  the  acts  of  Moll  and  Herman  as  the  Duke's  at- 
torneys formally  sanctioned  by  Brockholls  and  his  Council  in  a 
proclamation  dated  November  21. 

Returning  to  Philadelphia  the  next  important  work  was  the 
holding  of  the  Assembly.  Steps  for  its  convening  had  been 
taken  by  Penn  before  the  visit  to  New  York.  "We  could  not 
safely  stay  till  the  spring  for  a  government,"  he  says.  Apparently 
the  demand  for  a  code  more  liberal  in  some  particulars,  more 
strict  in  others,  than  "the  Duke's  Laws,"  which  Col.  Nicolls  had 
enacted  at  Hempstead  fifteen  years  before,  and  which  had  been  in 
force  until  now,  was  strong  among  the  newly  arrived  settlers. 
On  November  8  Penn  had  issued  writs  to  the  sheriffs  of  the  three 
lower  counties,  directing  them  "to  summon  all  freeholders"  to 
meet  on  the  20th  of  that  month,  then  to  elect  from  among  them- 
selves seven  persons  from  each  county,  "of  most  note  for  wis- 
dom, sobriety  and  integrity,"  to  serve  as  their  deputies  in  "a 
General  Assembly  to  be  held  at  Upland,  Pennsylvania,  Decem- 
ber 6  next,"  and  then  and  there  to  consult  with  him  "for  the  com- 
mon good  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  province,  and  adjacent  coun- 
ties of  New  Castle,  St.  Jones,  and  Whorekill,  alias  Deal,  under 
his  charge  and  jurisdiction." 

These  writs  show  that  Delaware  had  now  formally  been  di- 
vided into  three  counties.  New  Castle  county  remains,  but  St. 
Jones  was  later  renamed  Kent,  and  ^^^^oreki^  or  New  Deal    be- 

262 


The  Beginnings  of   Penn's  Colony 

came  Sussex.  That  tlie  three  "original"  counties  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, Philadelphia,  Bucks  and  Chester,  were  formed  at  or  about 
the  same  time  it  is  fair  to  presume.  We  have  in  the  minutes  of 
the  first  Assembly  (December  4)  a  record  of  the  attendance  of 
Thomas  Usher,  "sheriff  of  Chester  county."  The  seals  desig- 
nated for  the  Pennsylvania  counties  were :  for  Philadelphia  an 
anchor,  for  Chester  a  plow,  for  Bucks  a  tree  and  vine.  The  first 
sheriffs  of  the  three  counties  were  John  Test  for  Philadelphia, 
Richard  Noble  for  Bucks,  and  Thomas  Usher  for  Chester. 

We  have  seen  that  the  writs  for  Delaware  prescribed  the  elec- 
tion of  seven  deputies  from  each  county.  How  those  for  Penn- 
sylvania ran  we  do  not  know.  By  the  "Frame  of  Government" 
adopted  in  England  the  previous  year,  "all  the  freeman"  of  the 
Province  who  saw  fit  to  do  so  were  entitled  to  attend  the  first  As- 
sembly, and  the  preface  to  the  "\^otes  and  Proceedings"  of  that 
body  as  printed  by  Benjamin  Franklin  seventy  years  later  (1752) 

refers  to  this  fact.     It  says :  "These  Votes begin  with 

the  meeting  of  so  many  of  the  Freemen  as  thought  fit  to  appear, 
as  they  had  a  right  to  do,  by  the  sixteenth  Article  of  the  original 
Frame  of  the  Government,  or  Charter,  to  the  end  that  there  might 
be  an  universal  satisfaction  in  laying  the  Fundamentals  and  es- 
tablishing the  Government  and  Laws  of  the  Province."  It  seems 
unreasonable,  however,  that  the  Assembly  could  have  been  com- 
posed of  chosen  members,  twenty-one  in  number,  from  three  of 
the  counties,  and  an  unlimited  delegation,  attending  voluntarily, 
from  the  other  tliree.  For  the  second  Assembly,  which  met  at 
Philadelphia  in  March  following,  one  of  the  Pennsylvania  writs 
has  been  preserved — that  directed  by  Governor  Penn  to  Sheriff 
Noble  of  Bucks — and  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  form  adopted 
for  the  first  Assembly  was  similar.  This  writ  for  the  March 
Assembly  directs  the  sheriff  "to  summon  all  the  freeholders"  in 
his  bailiwick  to  meet  on  the  20th  day  of  February,  "at  the  Falls 
upon  Delaware  River,"  there  to  "elect  and  choose"  twelve  per- 
sons of  most  note  for  wisdom  and    integrity    "to    serve  as  their 

263 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 


Birthplace  of  Benjamin  West,  Swarthmore 

Photo   by   Louise   D.   Woodbridge 

delegates  in  the  provincial  council  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia  the 
loth  day  of  the  First  month  next"  (March,  1682-3,  O.  S.),  and 
"that  thou  there  declare  to  the  said  freemen  that  they  inay  all 
personally  appear  at  an  Assembly  at  the  place  aforesaid,  accord- 
ing to  the  contents  of  my  charter  of  liberties/' 

The  probable  formation  of  the  first  Assembly  was  that  those 
acting  were  the  delegates  duly  chosen ;  if  others  "attended"  they 
took  no  formal  part  in  the  proceedings. 

The  Assembly  convened  at  Chester  on  the  4th  of  December 
(1682).  In  what  building  it  sat  is  a  question  in  dispute.  It 
was  long  said  that  it  met  in  the  meeting-house  of  the  Friends,  but 
inquiry  showed  that  this  was  not  built  until  1693,  eleven  years 
later.  The  little  "House  of  Defence,"  which  had  been  built  un- 
der the  order  of  the  Upland  Court,  in  1677,  and  which  was  the 

264 


The  Beginnings  of  Penn's  Colony 

court-house  of  Chester  county  until  1724,  is  designated  by  Dr. 
Smith,  in  his  history  of  what  is  now  Delaware  county.  Deborah 
Logan,  in  her  notes  upon  the  correspondence  between  William 
Penn  and  James  Logan,  asserts  that  the  meeting-place  of  the  As- 
sembly was  the  large  dwelling-house  of  James  Sandiland.  a 
much-admired  mansion  in  its  day,  long  known  as  the  "double 
house." 

We  have  no  complete  list  of  those  who  were  members  of  this 
historic  first  Assembly.  If  seven  deputies  were  chosen  in  each 
of  the  Pennsylvania  counties,  as  was  done  in  Delaware,  making 
the  body  number  forty-two,  altogether,  the  names  of  more  than 
half  remain  unknown.       The  names  we  have  are  these : 

The  sheriff  of  Whorekill  county,  John  Vines,  in  his  return, 
gives  the  names  of  the  deputies  chosen  from  that  county — Ed- 
ward Southrin,  William  Clark,  Alexander  Draper,  John  Roades, 
Luke  Watson,  Nathaniel  \\'alker.  and  Cornelius  Verhoof.  Dr. 
Nicholas  More,  of  Philadelphia,  was  elected  Chairman.  Several 
committees  are  recorded  in  the  minutes — one  on  election  privi- 
leges, one  on  grievances,  one  "on  foresight  for  the  preparation 
of  provisional  bills."  and  one  on  an  address  to  the  Governor.  The 
names  of  those  serving  on  these  committees  are  given,  and  they 
add  to  our  list  the  following:  Philadelphia,  Griffith  Jones. 
Thomas  Holme,  Thomas  \\A-nne;  Bucks,  William  Yardley, 
Christopher  Taylor;  Chester,  John  Simcock,  Thomas  Brassey. 
Ralph  Withers;  New  Castle,  John  ]\Ioll  (in  place  of  Abraham 
Mann,  who  was  unseated  for  irregularity  of  election),  and  Wil- 
liam Sample;  Kent,  Francis  Whitwell  ai.d  John  Biggs. 

We  have  thus  the  names  of  twenty  members,  and  those  of  the 
other  twenty-two  remain  unknown. 

The  first  Assembly  sat  but  four  days.  It  adopted  a  series  of 
rules  for  its  own  procedure,  passed  an  act  uniting  the  three  Dela- 
ware counties  with  Pennsylvania,  and  conferring  naturalization 
on  the  people,  and  enacted  with  some  enlargement  of  scope  and 
language  the  code  of  laws  which  had  been  "agreed  upon  in  Eng- 

265 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

land."  On  the  17th  of  December  the  Assembly  adjourned,  upon 
a  resolution  to  meet  again  in  twenty-one  days — which,  however, 
it  did  not  do. 

Without  pausing  to  remark  upon  the  somewhat  quaint 
though  quite  pointed  and  plain  rules  of  procedure,  we  may  par- 
ticularly speak  of  the  Act  of  Union  and  the  "Great  Law."  The 
incorporation  of  the  "lower  counties"  with  Pennsylvania,  under 
one  legislative  and  executive  authority,  was  an  end  naturally  de- 
sired by  Penn,  and  the  Delaware  deputies,  by  John  Moll  and 
Francis  Whitwell,  presented  a  petition  asking  that  it  be  done. 
The  Assembly  passed  the  act  unanimously,  and  for  twenty  years, 
as  w^e  shall  see,  the  union  subsisted. 

As  for  the  "Great  Law,"  or  the  "Body  of  Laws,"  it  is  a  code 
which,  if  enforced,  W'Ould  work  large  and  in  the  main  salutary 
changes  in  the  condition  of  modern  society.  It  contemplated 
no  compromise  WMth  evil  doing,  and  it  held  as  evil  many  things 
which  after  two  centuries  have  come  to  be  regarded  as  compara- 
tively if  not  altogether  innocent.  First  and  foremost,  however, 
the  Great  Law  provided  for  those  things  in  which  the  people  were 
to  enjoy  liberty.  "Whereas,"  says  the  preamble,  "the  glory  of 
Almighty  God.  and  the  good  of  mankind,  is  the  reason  and  end 
of  government,  and  therefore  government  itself  is  a  venerable 
ordinance  of  God ;  and  forasmuch  as  it  is  principally  intended 
...  to  make  and  establish  such  la\\  s  as  shall  best  preserve  true 
Christian  and  civil  liberty,  in  opposition  to  all  unchristian,  licen- 
tious, and  unjust  practices,  whereby  God  may  have  his  due,  Cae- 
sar his  due,  and  the  people  their  due,  from  tyranny  and  oppres- 
sion of  the  one  side,  and  insolency  and  licentiousness  of  the  other, 
so  that  the  best  and  firmest  foundation  may  be  laid  for  the  pres- 
ent and  future  happiness  of  both  the  governor  and  people  of  this 
province  and  territories  aforesaid  and  their  posterity — be  it  en- 
acted," etc. 

The  first  enacted  section  provides  for  liberty  of  conscience  in 
matters  of  religion.       "Almighty  God,"  it  declares,  "being  only 

266 


The  Bes^innings  of   Penn's  Colony 

Lord  of  conscience,  father  of  lights  and  spirits,  and  the  author  as 
well  as  object  of  all  divine  knowledge,  faith,  and  worship,  who 
only  can  enlighten  the  mind  and  persuade  and  convince  the  under- 
standing of  people  in  due  reverence  to  his  sovereignty  over  the 
souls  of  mankind;  it  is  enacted  .  .  .  that  no  person  now  or  at 
any  time  hereafter  living  in  this  province,  who  shall  confess  and 
acknowledge  Almighty  God  to  be  the  creator,  upholder  and  ruler 
of  the  world,  and  that  professeth  him  or  herself  obliged  in  con- 
science to  live  peaceably  and  justly  under  the  civil  government, 
shall  in  any  wise  be  molested  or  prejudiced  for  his  or  her  con- 
scientious j)ersuasion  or  practice,  nor  shall  he  or  she  be  at  any 
time  compelled  to  frequent  any  religious  worship  place  or  minis- 
try whatever,  contrary  to  his  or  her  mind,  but  shall  freely  and 
fully  enjoy  his  or  her  Christian  liberty  in  that  respect,  without 
any  interruption  or  reflection." 

The  qualification  for  deputies  in  the  Assembly,  for  electors 
for  such  deputies,  and  for  "all  officers  and  persons  commission- 
ated  and  employed  in  the  service  of  the  government''  was  some- 
what more  restricted.  Such  persons  must  "profess  and  declare 
they  believe  Jesus  Christ  to  be  the  son  of  God,  and  Saviour  of  the 
world."  They  were  to  be,  moreover,  at  least  twenty-one  years 
old,  and  "not  convicted  of  ill-fame,  or  unsober  and  dishonest  con- 
versation"— conduct,  as  we  should  now  phrase  it.  And  a  fur- 
ther clause  provided  (as  the  second  section  of  the  Laws  agreed 
upon  in  England  had  proposed),  that  all  persons  should  be  "free- 
men" of  the  Province,  with  the  right  of  electing  or  being  elected, 
who  (i)  had  purchased  a  hundred  acres  of  land,  and  "seated"  it; 
(2)  who  had  paid  passage  over,  taken  up  a  hundred  acres,  at  a 
penny  an  acre,  and  seated  it:  (3)  who  had  been  a  servant  or 
bondsman,  had  become  free,  had  taken  up  fifty  acres  and  seated 
it;  and  finally  (4)  "every  inhabitant,  artificer,  or  other  resident 
.   .   .  that  pays  scot  and  lot  to  the  Governor." 

Provision  as  to  morals  covered,  as  has  been  suggested,  a  wide 
scope.       Those  who  derided  or  abused  others  on  account  of  their 

267 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 


religion  were  to  be  "looked  upon  as  disturbers  of  the  peace,  and 
punished  according]}'."  Labor  was  to  cease  on  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  that  all,  "whether  masters,  parents,  children,  or  ser- 
vants," might  read  the  Scriptures,  or  attend  some  place  of  wor- 
ship. Swearing  by  the  Divine  names  or  by  any  other  thing  or 
name,  speaking  loosely  or  profanely  of  God,  or  Jesus  Christ,  or 


\\  The   LjL-?-*L_j  County  i  j 


Seal  of  Bucks  County  in  1738 

"the  Scriptures  of  truth,"  cursing  one's-self  or  another,  or  any- 
thing belonging  to  him  or  any  other — all  these  were  offenses  pun- 
ishable by  fines  or  by  imprisonment  in  "the  house  of  correction," 
at  hard  labor,  with  only  bread  and  water  for  food. 

But  the  penalty  of  death  was  limited  to  malicious  and  pre- 
meditated murder,  a  leniency  of  the  law  then  unheard  of.  In 
England  even  trivial  thefts  were  then  capital  offenses. 

The  several  forms  of  sexual  delinquency  were  provided 
against,  drunkenness  was  punishable  with  fine  or  imprisonment, 
and  drinking  healths  so  as  to  lead  to  "unnecessary  and  excessive 
drinking"  by  a  fine.       The  sale  of  liquor    to    the    Indians    was 

268 


The  Beginnings  of  Penn's  Colony 

strongly  condemned,  and  punishment  provided.  "Whereas," 
says  the  law,  "divers  persons,  as  English,  Dutch.  Swedes,  etc., 
have  been  wont  to  sell  to  the  Indians  rum  and  brandy  and  such 
distilled  spirits,  though  they  know  the  said  Indians  are  not  able  to 
govern  themselves  in  the  use  thereof,  but  do  continuously  drink 
to  such  excess  as  makes  them  sometimes  destroy  one  another,  and 
grievously  annoy  and  disquiet  the  people  of  this  province,  and 
peradventure  those  of  neighboring  governments,  whereby  they 
make  the  poor  natives  worse  and  not  better,  for  their  coming 
among  tliem ;"  it  was  enacted  therefore  that  persons  who  should 
"presume  to  sell  or  exchange  any  rum,  or  brandy,  or  any  strong 
liquors,  at  any  time,  to  any  Indian  within  this  province,"  "should 
be  fined  five  pounds." 

An  ecjual  fine,  or  three  months  imprisonment,  was  imposed 
on  persons  who  should  give  or  accept  a  challenge ;  twenty  shil- 
lings fine  or  ten  days  of  hard  labor,  on  any  one  who  should  intro- 
duce or  frequent  "such  rude  and  riotous  sports  and  practices  as 
prizes,  stage-plays,  masks,  revels,  bull-baits,  cock-fighting,  and 
such  like;"  and  the  same  penalties  upon  any  one  convicted  of 
"playing  at  cards,  dice,  lotteries,  or  such  like  enticing,  vain,  and 
evil  sports  or  games."  Any  one  who  should  be  "clamorous, 
scolding,  or  railing  with  their  tongues"  should  have  "three  days 
at  hard  labor." 

Others  of  the  laws  provided  for  the  distribution  of  the  prop- 
erty of  deceased  persons,  for  the  manner  of  marriages,  etc.  The 
civil  marriage  was  made  sufficient;  there  must  be  consent  of 
parents  or  guardians,  and  a  publication  of  intention,  and  then  the 
marriage  must  "be  solemnized  by  taking  and  owning  one  another 
as  husband  and  wife  before  sufficient  witnesses,"  and  finally  a 
certificate  of  it,  "under  the  hands  of  parties  and  witnesses."  duly 
registered  in  the  county  office.  A  widower  or  widow  was  for- 
bidden to  "contract  marriage,  much  less  marry,"  within  a  year. 
No  "ordinary" — i.  e.  tavern — could  be  kept  without  a  license,  to 
be  obtained  of  the   governor,    and   the   landlord's  charges  were 

269 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

fixed.  "All  strong  beer,  and  ale  made  of  barley  malt"  was  to 
be  sold  at  not  more  than  two  pence  a  Winchester  ciuart.  and  "beer 
made  of  molasses"  at  not  over  one  penny.  The  price  of  a  meal 
at  the  inn  was  to  be  not  more  than  six  pence,  and  it  must  "con- 
sist of  beef  or  pork,  or  such  like  product  of  the  country  and  small 
beer."  "And  of  a  footman  he  shall  not  demand  above  two 
pence  a  night  for  his  bed,  and  of  a  horseman  nothing,  he  paying 
six  pence  a  night  for  his  horse's  hay." 

The  judicial  system  was  simple.       It  was  enacted : 

" — to  the  end  that  justice  may  be  faithfully  and  openly  done,  according 
to  law,  that  all  courts  of  justice  shall  be  open,  and  justice  shall  not  be  sold, 
denied,  nor  delayed ;  and  in  every  county  there  shall  be  one  court  erected,  to 
which  the  inhabitants  thereof  may  every  month  repair  for  justice,  and  in 
case  any  person  shall  hold  himself  aggrieved  by  the  sentence  of  the  said 
county  court,  that  such  persons  may  appeal  to  the  provincial  court,  which 
shall  sit  quarterly,  and  consist  of  not  less  than  five  judges,  the  appellant  giv- 
ing security  for  the  charges  of  the  suit;  and  no  further  appeal  to  be  admitted 
till  the  appellant  deposit  in  court  the  sum  he  is  condemned  to  pay,  and  give 
security,  in  case  he  be  cast  by  the  last  jurisdiction,  which  shall  be  the  pro- 
vincial council." 

And  further : 

" — that  in  all  courts,  all  persons,  of  all  persuasions,  may  freely  appear  in 
their  own  way,  and  according  to  their  own  manner,  and  there  personally  plead 
their  own  cause  themselves,  or  if  unable,  by  their  friends  ;  and  the  first  process 
shall  be  the  exhibition  of  the  complaint  in  court,  fourteen  days  before  the 
trial,  and  that  the  defendant  be  prepared  for  his  defence,  he  or  she  shall  be 
summoned,  no  less  than  ten  days  before,  and  a  copy  of  the  complaint  delivered 
him  or  her,  at  his  or  her  dwelling-house,  to  answer  unto ;  but  before  the  com- 
plaint of  any  person  shall  be  received,  he  or  she  shall  solemnly  declare  in  open 
court,  that  he  or  she  believes,  in  his  or  her  conscience,  his  or  her  cause  is 
just;  and  if  the  party  complained  against  shall,  notwithstanding,  refuse  to  ap- 
pear, the  plaintiff  shall  have  judgment  against  the  defendant  by  default." 

Upon  the  adjournment  of  the  Assembly,  Penn  went  immedi- 
ately to  Maryland,  where  a  meeting  with  Lord  Baltimore  had  been 
arranged.  He  reached  Colonel  Thomas  Taylor's  house  on  West 
river,  on  the  nth  of  December,  and  on  the  12th  a  conference  be- 
gan, as  Penn  says,  "about  our  business,  the  bounds,  both  at  the 
same  table,  with  our  respective  members  of  council."  The  meet- 
ing appears  to  have  been  courteous  on  both  sides,  and  it  contin- 

270 


The  Beginnings  of   Penn's  Colony 

ued  several  clays,  but  no  result  was  reached.  Penn  ]iresented  the 
letter  he  had  brought  from  the  King,  directing  that  the  ^Maryland 
bounds  should  be  two  degrees  from  south  to  north,  beginning  at 
Watkins  Point,  and  counting  sixty  miles  to  a  degree,  but  Lord 
Baltimore  flatly  refused  to  consider  such  an  adjustment.  He 
said  the  King  was  greatly  mistaken  about  the  matter;  "he  would 
not  leave  his  patent  to  follow  the  King's  letter,  nor  could  a  letter 
void  his  patent ;  and  by  that  he  would  stand.  This  was  the  sub- 
stance of  what  he  said  from  first  to  last."  Penn  pressed  him 
earnestly  on  the  ground  of  Pennsylvania's  need  for  a  good  water 
front.  "1  told  him,"  he  says,  "it  was  not  the  love  or  need  of  the 
land,  but  the  water — that  he  abounded  in  what  I  wanted,  and  ac- 
cess and  harboring,  even  to  excess."  Pennsylvania's  case,  Penn 
argued,  would  justify  much  greater  importunity,  for  "the  thing 
insisted  on  was  more  than  ninety-nine  times  more  valuable  to  me 
than  to  him."  But  the  argument  and  persuasion  were  in  vain; 
"after  three  days"  the  conference  broke  up,  and  Penn,  after  visit- 
ing and  preaching  at  the  Friends'  meetings  on  the  Eastern  shore 
of  Maryland,  returned  to  Chester  toward  the  end  of  December. 
He  wrote  from  that  place  on -the  29th  that  he  was  busy,  "casting 
the  country  into  townships,"  etc. 

Other  ships  besides  the  JVclconie  had  been  reaching  the  Dela- 
ware, and  unloading  their  companies  of  colonists.  The  Lion. 
which  arrived  with  the  first  Welsh  company  in  August,  and  the 
Geoffrey,  on  which  Nicholas  Moore  and  others  came,  a  few  days 
after  the  Welcome,  have  been  mentioned.  Penn's  letter  above 
referred  to  (Dec.  29)  says  twenty-three  vessels  had  come  and 
"none  miscarried,"  but  this  may  refer  to  the  whole  year,  1682.  or 
even  to  the  entire  period  since  he  ol^tained  his  charter.  Richard 
Townsend,  one  of  the  Welcome  passengers,  in  his  account  written 
twenty  years  later,  says  "it  was  thought  near  three  thousand  per- 
sons came  in.  the  first  year."  but  this  seems  an  overstatement.  The 
winter  appears  to  have  been  cold ;  Penn's  letter  of  the  following 
sunmier  to  the  Free  Society  of  Traders  says :       "We  had  sharp. 

271 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

frosty  weather — not  foul,  thick,  black  weather,  as  our  northeast 
winds  bring  with  them  in  England,  Imt  a  sky  clear  as  in  summer, 
and  the  air  dry,  cold,  piercing  and  hungry."  "Yet,"  he  adds, 
"I  remember  not  that  I  wore  more  cloaths  than  in  England." 
There  was.  apparently,  no  scarcity  of  food.  The  fisheries  in  the 
Delaware  provided  liberally.       Richard  Townsend,  then  at  Ches- 


Old  Hammer  and  Trowel   Inn 

Erected  1739  at  Toughkenamon;  prominent  in 
Bayard  Taylor's  "Story  of  Kennett."  Photo  by 
D.    E.    Brinton 

ter,  says  he  made  a  net,  "and  caught  great  quantities  of  fish,  which 
supplied  ourselves  and  many  others."  The  chase  in  the  woods 
did  well  also;  "we  could  buy  a  deer  for  about  tw^o  shillings,  and  a 
large  turkey  for  about  one  shilling."  Indian  corn  w^as  to  be  had 
"for  about  two  shillings  and  sixpence  a  bushel" — though  this  was 
a  high  price,  relatively,  for  that  day. 

The  first  Assembly  had  been  held  because  the  establishment 
of  a  government  "could  not  wait."  Writs  were  now  issued  for 
the  convening  of  the  second  Assembly,  to  consider  further  legis- 
lation.      It  was  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia  on  the  loth  of  March, 


272 


The  Beginnings  of  Penn's  Colony 

and  preliminary  thereto  the  freeholders  were  to  meet  in  each  of 
the  six  counties  February  20,  and  choose  "out  of  themselves,'' 
twelve  delegates  to  represent  them,  while  they  were  to  be  notified 
also  by  the  sheriffs  that  they  might  all  personally  appear,  accord- 
ing to  the  charter  of  liberties,  if  they  saw  fit. 

The  Assembly  so  convened  in  Philadelphia,  March  10,  1682-3, 
only  the  delegates  appearing.  At  the  meetings  held  in  the  sev- 
eral counties,  it  had  been  resolved  that  this  would  be  sufficient. 
The  Governor  and  his  Council  first  met.  and  their  proceedings 
form  the  first  of  their  minutes,  printed  in  the  series  of  "Colonial 
Records,"  published  by  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  The  coun- 
cillors present  at  this  meeting  were  only  sixteen  in  number,  as 
follows :  Captain  \\'illiam  Markham,  Edmund  Cantwell  and 
John  ]\Ioll,  of  Xew  Castle;  Francis  Whitwell,  John  Hilliard,  and 
John  Richardson,  of  Kent;  William  Clark,  of  Sussex;  Thomas 
Holme,  Lasse  Cock,  and  William  Haige,  of  Philadelphia;  Chris- 
topher Taylor,  ^^'illiam  Biles  and  James  Harrison,  of  Bucks ; 
John  Symcock,  WilHam  Clayton,  and  Ralph  \\'ithers,  of  Chester. 
The  full  number  of  councillors  was  eighteen — three  members 
from  each  of  the  six  counties.  Jf)hn  Roades  and  Edward 
Southrin,  colleagues  of  William  Clark,  of  Sussex,  were  the  two 
absentees. 

Most  of  these  are  already  familiar  to  us.  Several  were  old 
settlers  on  the  Delaware  before  Penn  had  his  charter — among 
them  Lasse  Cock,  Edmund  Cantwell,  William  Clayton,  John 
Moll,  and  William  Biles.  Christopher  Taylor  had  recently  ar- 
rived (1682)  from  England.  He  took  up  land  in  Bucks,  but  re- 
moved to  Tinicum  Island,  in  Chester  county,  about  1684,  and  was 
sometime  register-general  of  the  pro\-ince.^  William  Clark  was 
from  Sussex,  Delaware,  a  prominent  and  prosperous  man.   James 

'Christopher    Taylor    was   a    scholar.     Be-  Hebrew,     and    had    published    in     England, 

fore  coming  over  he  had  taught  a  classical  1679,   a   "Compendium   Trium   Linguarum." 

school  at  Edmonton,  near  London,  his  sue-  He    left    Tinicum    Island    to    his    son,    Dr. 

cessor  there  being  the  famous  George  Keith.  Israel   Taylor,   who   owned   and   occupied   it 

He    was    proficient    in    Latin,    Greek    and  to   his   death   in    1726. 

I  — 18  273 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

Harrison  had  also  recently  arrived,  and  taken  up  land  in  Bucks; 
he  was  William  Penn's  first  steward  at  Pennsbury.^ 

The  Council's  minutes  may  interest  us  briefly.  "The  Gov- 
ernor ordered  that  one  speak  at  a  time,  standing  up,  with  his  face 
to  the  chair.'"  It  was  decided  that  the  ballot  should  not  be  used 
"in  all  cases.'' but  that  it  should  be  "in  all  personal  matters,"  and 
that  "all  bills  should  be  past  into  the  laws  by  vote."  The  "char- 
ter of  liberties" — the  "Frame" — was  read.  It  being  shown  that 
of  the  twelve  persons  elected  in  each  county,  three  had  been 
designated  for  members  of  the  Council,  and  nine  to  serve  in  the 
Assembly,  this  arrangement  was  confirmed.  It  was  suggested 
that  this  alteration  in  the  "Frame"  should  not  be  construed  as 
prejudicing  its  other  clauses,  whereupon  the  Governor  assured 
them  "they  might  amend,  alter  and  add  for  the  Publick  good,  and 
that  he  was  ready  to  settle  such  Foundations  as  might  be  for  their 
happiness  and  the  good  of  their  Posterities,  according  to  the 
powers  vested  in  him"  by  his  Charter, 

The  Council  met  again  on  the  12th.  Meantime  it  appeared 
that  Dr.  Nicholas  IMoore,  who  had  been  the  Speaker  of  the  first 
Assembly,  and  who  occupied  what  was  presumed  to  be  the  impor- 
tant position  of  president  of  the  great  corporation,  the  Free  So- 
ciety of  Traders,  had  been  expressing  himself  in  public  as  violent- 
ly displeased  by  the  action  of  the  county  meetings  in  reducing  the 
Assembly  and  the  confirmation  of  this  by  the  Council.  The  min- 
utes state  that  he  was  charged  with  saying  "in  company  in  a  pub- 
lic house,"  to  this  effect :  "They  have  this  day  broken  the  Char- 
ter ;  all  that  you  do  will  come  to  nothing ;  hundreds  in  Fngland 
will  curse  you  for  what  you  have  done,  and  their  children  after 

^James  Harrison  was  of  Kendal,  in  York-  but   the   Master,   Settle,   took   them   into   the 

shire.     A   letter   of   Penn's  to  him,   explain-  Chesapeake,    instead    of    the    Delaware,    so 

ing   the    Pennsylvania    plan,   has   been   cited  that  they   landed  at  Choptank,  on  the   East- 

ante.     He    came    in    1682,    with    his    family,  ern   Shore,  Oct.   30.      Leaving  their   families 

including    his    son-in-law,    Phineas    Pember-  and  their  goods  at  William   Dickinson's,   at 

ton,    the    ancestor    of    a    large    and    notable  Choptank,     Harrison     and     Pemberton    rode 

family  of  Pennsylvania.     They  sailed   from  north    to    Philadelphia,    and    sent    for    their 

Liverpool    July    7,    in    the    ship    Submission,  families  the   following  spring. 

274 


The   Beginnings  of   Penn's  Colony 

them ;  you  may  hereafter  be  impeached  for  treason  for  what  you 
do."  Dr.  Mcore's  vehemence  in  the  tavern  was  the  outcome,  no 
doubt,  of  a  temper  naturally  rather  splenetic  and  overbearing :  but 
it  may  have  been  due  also  to  the  fact  that  notwithstanding  his 
prominence  in  the  first  Assembly,  at  Chester,  he  had  now  not  been 
elected  either  to  the  Council  or  the  Assembly.  As  we  §hall  see 
later,  he  was  capable  of  sustained  controversy,  and  of  seeming  to 
enjoy  it.  The  Council  summoned  him  to  appear  before  it,  which 
he  did,  and  on  being  asked  to  explain  his  public  oratory  said  that 
if  he  had  delivered  himself  as  charged  he  was  certainly  to  blame, 
but  he  had  intended  to  speak  "rather  l)y  Query  than  assertion." 
The  Council  therefore  excused  him,  but  as  his  discourse  had  "been 
unreasonable  and  imprudent"  he  was  cautioned  "to  prevent  the 
like  for  the  future." 

The  fifty-four  members  of  the  Assembly,  nine  from  each  coun- 
ty, included  many  wlio  have  already  become  known  in  this  narra- 
tive. Philadelphia  sent  two  of  the  Swedes,  Swan  Swanson  and 
Andreas  Bengston :  Chester  sent  Robert  \\'ade.  New  Castle  Peter 
Alrich.  and  three  otliers  of  the  Dutch  settlers — Gasparus  Herman, 
John  De  Haes,  and  Heinrich  Williams.  Not  less  than  five  of  the 
IVcIcoine's  passengers  appeared,  and  one  of  them.  Dr.  Thomas 
Wynne,  was  clusen  Speal-er:  the  i:thers  were  Julin  Snno-liuv-t.  of 
Philadelphia;  Nicholas  \\'aln  and  Thomas  Fitzwater,  of  Bucks, 
and  Dennis  Rochford,  of  Chester. 

This  second  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  continued  its  sessions 
until  April  3.  and  applied  itself  closely  to  business.  The  changes 
in  the  number  of  the  Council  and  Assembly  already  made  were 
confirmed  by  an  "Act  of  Settlement,"  passed  March  19,  but  later 
it  was  decided  to  frame  a  new  "Charter"  of  fundamental  laws,  in 
which  this  and  other  subjects  should  be  dealt  with,  displacing  thus 
the  old  "Frame  of  Government"  which  Penn  had  promulgated  in 
Fngland.  The  desire  for  a  new  Charter  seems  to  have  been  felt 
by  the  Assembly.  On  the  20th  of  March,  its  members  met  the 
Governor    and    Council.    They    were    asked    by    the  Governor 

275 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

"whether  they  would  have  the  old  charter  or  a  new  one,"  and 
"they  unanimously  decided  there  might  be  a  new  one."  It  was 
accordingly  framed  by  a  joint  committee,  and  it  was  agreed  to  en- 
gross it  anew  and  entire  on  parchment.  On  the  afternoon  of 
]\Iarch  31,  "the  Speaker  came  down,  with  the  whole  House,  to 


Boehm's  Reformed  Church 

Blue  Bell,  Montgomery  County;  used  as  a. 
hospital  after  the  battle  of  Germantown.  Neg- 
ative by  D.  E.   Brinton 

hear  it  read,"  and  finally,  April  2,  the  House  again  "waited  upon 
the  Governor  and  Council  at  the  council-house,"  when  the  Charter 
was  once  more  read,  was  sig-ned  and  sealed  by  Governor  Penn, 
and  delivered  to  Thomas  Wynne,  the  Speaker,  who  made  an  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  Governor's  kindness  in  the  business.  The 
document  was  then  attested  by  the  signatures  of  the  members  of 
the  Council  and  Assembly,  twelve  of  the  former  and  fifty-three  of 
the  latter  being  present  and  signing. 

276 


The  Beginnings  of  Penn's  Colony 

Under  this  charter  the  Assembly  remained  as  before  in  two 
important  particulars  :  (  i )  It  could  not  *'sit  upon  its  own  adjourn- 
ments," but  was  summoned  and  "prorogued"  by  the  Governor; 
(2)  it  originated  no  legislation,  but  could  only  pass  upon  the  bills 
which  the  Council  presented  to  it.  The  number  of  members  of  the 
Assembly  was  fixed  at  six  from  each  county,  and  it  was  arranged 
that  members  of  the  Council  serve  three  years,  one  member  being 
chosen  annually  in  each  county.  Bills  prepared  by  the  Governor 
and  Council  for  the  Assembly's  action  were  required  to  be  pub- 
lished, by  placing  them  "in  the  most  noted  place  in  every  county," 
twenty  days  before  the  Assembly  met.  The  elections  for  mem- 
bers of  the  Council  and  Assembly  were  fixed  annually  for  the  loth 
of  March,  and  the  convening  of  the  Assembly  for  the  loth  of  May. 

The  legislation  passed  by  the  Assembly  covered  a  wide  range 
of  subjects.  It  was  enacted  that  the  laws  passed  at  Chester  in 
December  should  continue  in  force  to  the  end  of  the  first  session 
of  the  next  General  Assembly,  except  such  as  might  be  meantime 
amended  or  repealed.  A  law  abolishing  primogeniture  was  passed ; 
it  was  provided  "that  whatsoever  estate  any  person  hath  in  this 
province  and  territories  thereof,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  unless  it 
appear  that  an  equal  division  be  made  elsewhere,  shall  be  thus  dis- 
posed of,  that  is  to  say,  one-third  to  the  wife  of  the  party  deceased, 
one-third  to  the  children  equally,  and  the  other  third  as  he  pleas- 
eth ;  and  in  case  his  wife  be  deceased  before  him  two-thirds  shall 
go  to  the  children  equally,  and  the  other  third  disposed  of  as  he 
shall  think  fit,  his  debts  being  first  paid."  In  the  case  of  a  per- 
son dying  intestate  it  was  provided  that  it  go  to  his  wife,  and  his 
child  or  children ;  if  he  left  none,  then  to  his  brothers  and  sisters, 
if  any,  or  to  their  children;  "in  case  no  such  be,"  then  one-third 
to  parents,  and  the  other  half  to  next  of  kin;  "and  for  want  of 
parents  one-half  shall  go  to  the  Governor,  and  for  want  of  kindred 
one-half  to  the  public." 

Some  of  the  clauses  of  the  "Great  Law"  were  amended,  but 
without  impairing  its  general  character.       A  customs  duty  was 

277 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

levied  on  imported  "rum,  wine,  brandy,  and  strong  waters,"  on 
cider  and  on  all  imported  goods,  molasses  excepted,  and  the  reve- 
nue from  this  was  offered  the  Governor,  "as  a  testimony  of  re- 
gard and  affection.''  Many  details  of  the  legislation  related  to 
trade.  The  inspection  of  "pipe-staves"  was  provided  for,  and 
their  export  put  under  regulation.  An  export  duty  was  placed 
on  hides,  beaver  skins,  deer  skins,  etc.,  sent  to  other  countries  than 
England.  Liquor  exported  in  any  cask  or  vessel  was  required 
to  be  gauged,  and  the  quantity  marked  outside.  To  encourage 
the  flax  and  hemp  culture,  it  was  provided  that  "such  hemp  shall 
be  current  pay  betwixt  man  and  man  at  four  pence  per  pound,  and 
such  flax  at  eight  pence."  No  provisions  coming  into  the  Province 
or  territories,  except  from  West  Jersey,  should  be  sold  before  five 
days,  "to  the  end  that  those  that  live  remotely  may  have  notice 
thereof,  and  be  supplied,  as  w^ell  as  those  near  at  hand."  Weights 
and  measures  were  fixed  as  under  the  English  law,  including  the 
"Winchester  bushel."  The  exposure  to  sale  of  any  wheat  at  the 
market  price,  which  was  not  clean  of  "dust,  chaff,  and  such  like 
trash,"  was  punishable  by  a  fine.  Seven  years'  quiet  possession 
of  land  gave  a  good  title,  except  in  the  cases  of  infants,  married 
women,  lunatics,  and  "persons  beyond  the  seas."  For  three  years 
no  cow-calf  or  ewe-lamb  should  be  killed,  except  where  the  dam 
had  died  by  casualty.  For  killing  a  wolf,  any  person  other  than 
an  Indian  should  have  ten  shillings  for  a  male,  and  fifteen  for  a 
female;  if  an  Indian  killed  one  he  should  have  five  shillings,  "and 
the  skin  for  his  pains."  All  sorts  of  cattle  six  months  old  or 
more  were  required  to  be  branded  with  the  owner's  registered 
mark,  which  had  to  be  recorded.  The  assize  of  bread  was  strictly 
provided  for.  ^Vheat  fields  were  required  to  be  enclosed  by  a 
fence  at  least  five  feet  high.  Each  county  was  required  to  erect,  be- 
fore the  last  day  of  December,  1683,  a  house  "at  least  twenty  feet 
square,  for  restraint,  correction,  labour,  and  punishment  of  all 
such  persons  as  shall  be  thereunto  committed  by  law."  Persons 
intending  to  remove  from  the  Province  were  required  to  place  a 

278 


The  Beginnings  of   Penn's  Colonv 

written  notice  on  the  "door  of  the  county-court/'  at  least  thirty 
days  before,  and  have  a  pass  "under  the  county  seal."  "Unknown 
persons"  were  not  to  "presume  to  travel  or  go  without  the  limits" 
of  the  county  in  which  they  lived  without  a  pass  or  certificate  un- 
der the  seal  of  that  county.  And  any  person  coming  from  an- 
other province  into  this,  without  a  pass,  was  liable  to  apprehen- 
sion and  imprisonment.  "Servants"  could  not  be  assigned  by 
their  owners,  except  with  the  cognizance  of  two  justices ;  such  a 
servant,  bound  to  serve  time  in  Pennsylvania,  could  not  be  sold 
into  another  province ;  nor  could  any  servant  be  attached  or  taken 
into  execution  for  the  debt  of  master  or  mistress. 

The  education  of  the  people  received  thought.  The  charter 
provided  that : 

"The  Governor  and  Provincial  Council  shall  erect  and  order  all  publick 
schools,  and  encourage  and  reward  the  authors  of  useful  sciences  and  laudable 
inventions,  in  the  said  Province  and  Territories  thereof." 

And  one  of  the  laws  reads : 

"And  to  the  end  that  the  poor  as  well  as  rich  may  be  instructed  in  good 
and  commendable  learning,  which  is  to  be  preferred  before  wealth,  all  persons 
in  this  Province  and  territories  thereof,  having  children,  and  all  guardians  or 
trustees  of  orphans,  shall  cause  such  to  be  instructed  in  reading  and  writing, 
so  that  they  may  be  able  to  read  the  Scriptures,  and  to  write,  by  the  time  they 
attain  to  twelve  years  of  age;  and  that  they  may  be  taught  some  useful  trade 
or  skill,  that  the  poor  may  work  to  live,  and  the  rich,  if  they  become  poor,  may 
not  want :  of  which  every  County  Court  shall  take  care." 

To  facilitate  travel  and  communication  it  was  ordained  that 
"sufficient  cartways"  should  be  opened  to  "the  most  convenient 
landing-places,"  and  that  there  should  be  "ferry-boats  for  men 
and  horses  built  within  one  year  .  .  .  over  the  creeks  com- 
monly called  Neshaminee,  Sculkill,  and  Cristeen  at  the  charges  of 
the  counties  they  belong  to." 

With  the  adjournment  of  this  second  Assembly,  the  Province 
of  Pennsylvania  may  be  considered  as  having  fully  begun  its  ca- 
reer. Its  constitutional  basis  had  been  deliberately  formed  by  the 
King's  grant  of  power  to  Penn.  and  by  the  charter  which  Penn, 
upon  free  conference  with  the  Council  and  the  Assembly,  had  de- 

279 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

fined  and  declared.  The  whole  system  was  thus  very  democratic. 
It  is  true  that  an  ultimate  authority,  with  power  to  approve  or  re- 
ject, lay  in  the  Crown,  but  while  this  might  be  exercised,  and  in 
some  cases — as  was  later  unpleasantly  realized — be  employed  to 


Paxton  Church,  Paxtang,  built  1740 

Photo  by  Mrs.   Innes  Henry 

check  or  thwart  the  popular  purpose,  the  general  operation  of  the 
laws  was  such  as  the  people  themselves  desired  to  enjoy.  Penn- 
sylvania, from  this  time,  experienced  very  little  of  those  pains  and 
penalties  of  arbitrary  government  which  others  of  the  American 
colonies  had  to  endure.  The  Assembly  especially,  from  these 
days  of  early  spring  in  the  year  1683,  ^^^^  itself  the  repository  of 
the  people's  rights  and  interests,  and  whatever  of  criticism  or  de- 

280 


The  Beeinnines  of  Penn's  Colonv 


'to 


traction  may  have  been  appHed  to  it  later,  in  the  ninety  years  of 
its  hfe,  no  one  can  deny  that  it  sustained  throughout  the  cause  of 
the  Commonwealth  against  all  comers.  W'e  shall  see  this  abun- 
dantly exemplified  as  we  proceed,  and  shall  find  the  men  who  suc- 
cessively led  the  Assembly  forming  a  fine  example  of  single- 
minded  and  courageous  citizenship. 

On  the  3rd  of  April,  then,  the  members  left  Philadelphia  for 
their  homes.  Nearly  all  were  farmers,  and  the  labors  of  the 
opening  season  called  them  to  their  places.  For  the  men  of  Sus- 
sex and  Kent  it  was  quite  time  to  be  afield,  and  even  those  from 
Bucks  and  Chester  could  make  some  preparation  for  the  early 
planting.  The  weather  that  year  was  fine.  From  March  to 
June,  Penn  wrote  a  little  later,  "we  enjoyed  a  sweet  spring — no 
gusts,  but  gentle  showers  and  a  fine  sky."  The  Governor  him- 
self once  more  essayed  to  reach  conclusions  with  the  Maryland 
proprietary.  This  time  it  was  Lord  Baltimore's  duty  to  return 
the  visit  paid  him  in  December.  A  messenger  had  been  sent  in- 
viting him  to  name  a  time  and  place  for  meeting,  and  in  ]\Iay  three 
Maryland  gentlemen  came  riding  northward  to  say  that  his  Lord- 
ship expected  to  arrive  presently  at  the  head  of  Chesapeake  Bay. 
As  had  happened  the  year  before  with  ]\Iarkham,  Penn  was  just 
then  engaged  in  treaties  with  the  Indians,  but  he  set  ofif  as  soon 
as  possible,  and  met  Lord  Baltimore  "ten  miles  from  New  Castle." 
He  invited  Baltimore  to  return  with  him  to  New  Castle,  and  there 
"entertained  him  as  well  as  the  town  could  afford,  on  so  little  no- 
tice." But  the  meeting  again  availed  nothing.  Lord  Baltimore 
appeared  desirous  of  conferring  privately.  Penn  then  proposed 
that  they  sit  at  their  several  lodgings,  each  with  his  council,  and 
interchange  "written  memorials,"  so  that  there  might  be  no  mis- 
taking each  other's  views ;  but  the  Maryland  proprietary  said,  "he 
was  not  well,  and  the  weather  was  sultry,  so  he  would  return  with 
what  speed  he  could,"  and  leave  the  treaty  to  a  more  convenient 
time  and  more  pleasant  weather.  "Thus  we  parted  at  that  time," 
says  Penn's  narrative. 

281 


Pcnnsylviinia  Colonial   and   Federal 

Lord  Baltimore  had  exidcntly  determined  to  press  his  claims, 
and  not  to  negotiate.  By  an  order  dated  May  15,  at  St.  Mary's, 
the  Maryland  capital,  he  had  directed  the  sheriffs  of  the  several 
counties  to  compel  all  settlers  to  pay  for  their  land  and  he  fixed  the 
rate  within  Penn's  "I^ower  Counties"  at  one-half  the  amount  re- 
c|uired  in  the  undisputed  ]\Iaryland  counties.  In  the  latter,  for 
fifty  acres  the  settler  should  pay  one  hundred  pounds  of  tobacco 
down,  and  two  shillings  yearly  rent,  but  "on  the  sea-board  side  or 
the  Whorekills,''  he  might  pay  but  fifty  pounds  of  tobacco  and  a 
shilling  rent.  Plainly  this  was  to  encourage  Maryland  planters 
on  Penn's  Delaware  lands. 

This  order  to  the  sheriffs  Penn  had  heard  of  before  the  New- 
Castle  meeting,  and  shortly  after  that  event  letters  reached  him 
from  two  judges  of  the  county  courts  that  "such  a  proclamation 
was  abroad,"  and  the  people  disturbed  by  it.  Thereupon  he  sent 
three  members  of  his  Council  to  Lord  Baltimore  for  an  explana- 
tion. On  their  way  they  secured  a  copy  of  the  order — probably 
from  Smithson,  sheriff  of  Dorchester  county — which  they  were 
able  thus  to  show  in  their  interview  with  his  Lordship.  He  told 
them,  however,  that  it  had  no  special  significance;  "it  was  his 
ancient  form,  and  he  only  did  it  to  renew  his  claim,  not  that  he 
would  encourage  any  to  plant  there."  Then,  said  Penn's  messen- 
gers, if  it  is  merely  formal,  why  not  call  it  in?  But  this  he  de- 
clined to  do. 

In  the  letter  to  the  Lords  of  Trade  and  Plantations,  August 
14  (1683),  in  which  Penn  described  these  events,  he  says  in  one 
place  :  "I  was  then  (May)  in  treaty  with  the  kings  of  the  natives 
for  land,"  and  in  another  place,  near  the  close :  "I  have  followed 
the  Bishop  of  London's  counsel  by  buying  and  not  taking  away 
the  natives'  land,  with  whom  I  have  settled  a  very  kind  corre- 
spondence." These  allusions  bring  us  to  the  subject  of  Penn's 
Treaty  with  the  Indians — the  "Great  Treaty"  of  our  history. 

The  time  of  this  treaty  was  long  assigned  to  the  first  few  days 
after  Penn's  arrival  at  Philadelphia.      It  was  commonly  supposed, 

282 


The  Beginnings  of   Penn's  Colony 

and  has  been  frequently  stated  in  historical  narrative,  that  the 
treaty  made  familiar  by  Benjamin  West's  paintin.e^,  and,  hardly 
less,  by  Voltaire's  allusion  to  it  as  "the  only  treaty  never  sworn  to 
and  never  broken,"  took  place  in  the  November  days  following  the 
Governor's  first  landing.  But  this  view,  upon  careful  recent 
study,  has  been  revised.  An  examination  of  all  the  evidence 
shows  it  to  be  altogether  unlikely  that  Penn  had  any  such  formal 
and  important  meeting  with  the  Indians,  if  indeed  he  had  any 
meeting  at  all  with  them,  before  the  spring  and  summer  of  1683. 
His  early  letters  contain  no  account  of  it.  They  make,  in  fact, 
little  allusion  to  the  Indians.  He  describes  in  them  his  several 
activities  and  occupations,  but  he  says  nothing  of  having  met  the 
Indians,  either  for  the  purchase  of  land  or  the  negotiation 
of  friendly  relations.  Moreover,  we  can  account  for  his  move- 
ments from  the  time  of  his  landing  until  winter  with  such  com- 
pleteness as  to  leave  few  days  when  he  could  have  held  such 
a  treaty. 

The  conclusion  has  been  formed,  and  undoubtedly  upon  the 
best  evidence,  that  the  Great  Treaty  of  our  tradition  is  that  which 
is  referred  to  in  the  deed  made  by  Tamanen — Tammany — to 
Penn,  on  the  23d  of  June,  1683,  ^"^1  which  will  be  found  of  record 
in  the  first  volume  of  the  "Pennsylvania  Archives."  In  Penn's 
long  and  detailed  letter  of  the  i6th  of  August  to  the  Free  Society 
of  Traders,  he  describes  the  Indians  minutely,  and  then  says : 

"I  have  had  occasion  to  be  in  council  with  them  upon  treaties 
for  land,  and  to  adjust  the  terms  of  trade.  Their  order  is  thus : 
The  King  sits  in  the  middle  of  an  half  moon,  and  hath  his  coun- 
cil, the  old  and  wise,  on  each  hand ;  behind  them  or  at  a  little  dis- 
tance, sit  the  younger  fry  in  the  same  figure.  .  .  .  When  the 
purchase  was  agreed,  great  promises  passed  between  us  of  kind- 
ness and  good  neighborhood,  and  that  the  Indians  and  English 
must  live  in  love  as  long  as  the  sun  and  moon  give  light:  which 
done,  another  made  a  speech  to  the  Indians  in  the  name  of  all  the 
Sachamakers  or  Kins:s.  first  to  tell  them  what  was  done;  next  to 


'&■ 


283 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 


Sisters'  House  and  Saal,  Ephrata 

Erected     about     1740.     Photo     by     Louise     D. 
VVoodbridge 

charge  and  command  them  to  love  the  Christians,  and  particularly 
live  in  peace  with  me,  and  the  people  under  my  Government ;  that 
many  Governors  had  been  in  the  River,  but  that  no  Governor  had 
come  himself  to  live  and  stay  here  before;  and  having  n(5w  such 
an  one  that  treated  them  well,  they  should  never  do  him  or  his  any 
wrong.  At  every  sentence  of  which  they  shouted  and  said  Amen 
in  their  way." 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  meeting  which  Penn  thus  refers  to 
is  that  of  June  23.  Nor  can  it  be  questioned  that  he  here  fairly 
describes  such  an  occasion  as  that  Great  Treaty  which  is  fixed  in 
our  tradition.  The  treaty  of  June  23  was  for  the  purchase  of 
land,  and  was  a  formal  and  important  occasion.  Some  passages 
in  Penn's  description  of  it,  not  quoted  above,  clearly  show  that 

284 


The  Beginnings  of  Penn's  Colony 

previous  negotiations  had  led  up  to  this  as  a  consummation  and 
conclusion.  He  says  of  it  that :  "Having  consulted  and  re- 
solved their  business  the  King  ordered  one  of  them  to  speak  to 
me ;  he  stood  up,  came  to  me,  and  in  the  name  of  the  King,  saluted 
me;  then  took  me  by  the  hand  and  told  me  he  was  ordered  by  his 
king  to  speak  to  me ;  and  that  now  it  was  not  he,  but  the  King  that 
spoke.  .  .  .  He  first  prayed  me  to  excuse  them  that  they  had 
not  complied  with  me  the  last  time ;  he  feared  there  might  be  some 
fault  with  the  interpreter  being  neither  Indian  nor  English ;  be- 
sides it  was  the  Indian  custom  to  deliberate,  and  take  up  much 
time  in  council  before  they  resolve,  and  that  if  the  young  people 
and  owners  of  the  land  had  been  as  ready  as  he  I  had  not  met  with 
so  much  delay.  Having  thus  introduced  his  matter,  he  fell  to  the 
bounds  of  the  land  they  had  agreed  to  dispose  of  and  the  price.' 
In  the  years  following  1683,  far  down  into  the  next  century, 
the  Indians  preserved  the  tradition  of  an  agreement  of  peace  made 
with  Penn,  and  it  was  many  times  recalled  in  the  meetings  held 
with  him  and  his  successors.  '  Some  of  these  allusions  are  very 
definite.  In  171 5,  for  example,  an  important  delegation  of  the 
Lenape  chiefs  came  to  Philadelphia  to  visit  the  Governor.  Sas- 
soonan — afterward  called  Allummapees,  and  for  many  years  the 
principal  chief  of  his  people — was  at  the  head,  and  Opessah,  a 
Shawnee  chief,  accompanied  him.  There  was  "great  ceremony," 
says  the  Council  record,  over  the  "opening  of  the  calumet."  Rat- 
tles were  shaken,  and  songs  were  chanted.  Then  Sassoonan 
spoke,  offering  tlie  calumet  to  Governor  Gookin,  who  in  his  speech 
spoke  of  "that  firm  Peace  that  was  settled  between  William  Penn, 
the  founder  and  chief  governor  of  this  country,  at  his  first  coming 
into  it,"  to  which  Sassoonan  replied  that  they  had  come  "to  renew 
the  former  bond  of  friendship;  that  William  Penn  had  at  his  first 
coming  made  a  clear  and  open  road  all  the  way  to  the  Indians,  and 
they  desired  the  same  might  be  kept  open  and  that  all  obstructions 
might  be  removed,"  etc.  In  1720,  Governor  Keith,  writing  to 
the  Iroquois  chiefs  of  New  York,  said :    "When  Governor  Penn 

285 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

first  settled  this  coiinlr}-  he  made  it  liis  first  care  to  cultivate  a  strict 
alliance  and  friendship  with  all  the  Indians,  and  condescended  so 
far  as  to  purchase  his  lands  from  them."  And  in  March,  1721-2, 
the  Colonial  authorities,  sending  a  message  to  the  Senecas,  said : 
''William  Penn  made  a  firm  peace  and  league  with  the  Indians  in 
these  parts  near  forty  years  ago,  which  league  has  often  been  re- 
peated and  never  broken." 

It  may  be  concluded  from  this  evidence  that  Penn  had  no  for- 
mal or  important  meeting  with  the  Indians  of  the  Delaware  re- 
gion— or  any  others — prior  to  June,  1683  !  that  on  the  23rd  of  that 
month  he  did  have  such  a  meeting  with  them,  Tamanen,  or  Tam- 
many, being  one  of  the  chiefs  present ;  that  in  that  meeting  pur- 
chases of  land  were  made,  and  declarations  of  friendship  inter- 
changed ;  and  that  this  occasion  is  the  one  which  remained  long  in 
memory,  and  has  become  fixed  in  history.  Even  if  we  did  not 
grant  it  the  distinction  of  being  tlie  Great  Treaty  it  was  evidently 
a  treaty  of  high  significance  and  importance,  and  so  entitled  to  be 
called  great.  The  traditional  place,  beneath  the  spreading  elm  at 
Shackamaxon,  on  the  Delaware's  bank,  was  an  appropriate  spot, 
and  the  tree  itself^  for  a  century  and  a  quarter  remained  an  object 

'The    "Treaty    Tree"    stood    many    years  A   slip    from   the   old  tree   was  planted   in 

afterward,    and   finally   blew    down,    Watson  the   grounds   of   the    Pennsylvania   Hospital, 

says  (Vol.  I.,  p.  237),  on  the  3rd  of  March,  The    hospital    minutes,    May    26,    1810,    say: 

1810.     "The    root    was    wrenched    and    the  "A  scion  from  the  root  of  a  tree  called  the 

trunk  broken  off;  it  fell  on  Saturday  night.  Great  Elm  of  Kensington,  said  to  have  been 

and    on    Sunday    many    hundreds   of    people  the    same    tree   under   which   William   Penn, 

visited   it.     In    its    form    it    was   remarkably  the    Proprietor    of    Pennsylvania,    held    the 

wide-spread,  but  not  lofty;  its  main  branch,  first  treaty  with  the  Indians,  was  presented 

inclining    toward    the    river,    measured    150  by     Matthew    V'anduzen,    and     planted     by 

feet,   and  its  age,  as  it  was  counted  by  the  Peter     Brown,     Esq.   .  .  .  The     parent    tree 

inspection   of   its   circles   of   annual   growth,  was    blown    down    in    a    late    storm."     This 

was  283  years.     The  tree,  such  as  it  was  in  tree    at    the    hospital    stood    in    the    way    of 

1800,  was  very  accurately  drawn  by  Thomas  Clinton  street,  when  it  was  opened,  and  was 

Birch,    and    the    large    engraving    executed  cut  down  in   1841,  but  Charles  Roberts,  one 

from  it  by   Seymour  gives  the   true   appear-  of   the    managers,    planted   cuttings    from    it 

ance    of   every    visible    limb,    etc.     While    it  on  the   hospital   grounds,   and  one  of  these, 

stood    the     Methodists    and    Baptists    often  now    standing,    is    a    large    tree.     There   are 

held     their     summer     meetings     under     its  others,    from    the    same    original    source,    in 

shade."  Philadelphia,  and  one  or  more  elsewhere  in 

■  Pennsylvania. 


286 


The  Beginnings  of   Penn's  Colony 

of  historic  interest  and  affectionate  regard.  Benjamin  West  re- 
membered it  to  have  been  pointed  out  to  him.  as  early  as  1755,  as 
the  place  of  the  Great  Treaty,  and  he  related  that  General  Simcoe. 
one  of  the  British  officers  in  Philadeli)hia.  in  the  winter  of  1777- 
78,  told  him  that  he  had  ordered  his  men  not  to  cut  it  for  fuel,  and 
had  placed  a  guard  around  it  for  its  protection.  West's  painting, 
often  criticised  as  to  some  of  its  details,  especially  as  representing 
Penn  older  than  he  really  was — a  corpulent  elderly  gentleman,  in- 
stead of  a  graceful  man  under  forty — is  in  the  main  a  consistent 
and  reasonable  picture.  One  point  in  it  deserves  especial  notice : 
the  trees  are  shown  in  full  foliage,  suggesting  not  a  late  autumn 
or  winter  day,  but  one  in  the  leafy  month  of  June,  such  as  that 
when  the  treaty  with  Tammany  was  held. 

The  purchase  of  lands  made  by  Penn.  at  this  meeting  on  June 
23,  was  in  four  parcels,  and  four  deeds  were  made.  Tamanen. 
who  made  his  "mark"  to  the  deed,  a  snake  coiled,  conveyed  all  his 
lands  "lying  betwixt  Pemmapecka  (Pennypack)  and  Nessamincho 
(Neshaminy)  creeks,"  and  also  all  lying  along  the  Neshaminy. 
He  received  "so  much  wampum,  so  many  guns,  shoes,  stockings, 
looking-glasses,  blankets  and  other  goods  as  he  the  said  William 
Penn  shall  please  to  give  unto  we."  A  receipt  attached  acknowl- 
edges the  payment  of  these  goods,  "besides  several  guilders  in 
silver."  In  a  second  deed,  four  chiefs,  Essepenaike.  Swanpees.  and 
two  others,  conveyed  "all  our  lands  lying  between  Pemmapecka  and 
Neshaminck  creeks,  and  all  along  upon  Neshaminck  creek,  and 
backward  of  same,  and  to  run  two  days'  journey  with  an  horse  up 
into  ye  country,  as  said  river  doth  go."'  The  consideration,  as 
in  Tammany's  case,  was  left  to  Penn's  discretion  and  generosity. 

In  a  third  deed  Essepenaike  and  Swanpees  conveyed  their  in- 
terests in  precisely  the  same  lands  as  they  had  sold  jointly  with  the 
other  chiefs  in  deed  number  two. 

Finally,  in  a  fourth  deed.  Tamanen  and  Metamequan  con- 
veyed their  lands  "lying  betwixt  and  about"  Pennypack  and 
Neshaminy.  and  "along"  Neshaminy. 

287 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 


Interior  of  Saal,  Ephrata  Cloister 

Showing    altar    table,    hour    glass,    and    inscrip- 
tions on  wall.     Photo  by  J.    F.   Sachse 

All  these  deeds  were  witnessed  by  several  white  men ;  the 
names  appended  include  Lasse  Cock,  who  doubtless  acted  as  in- 
terpreter; John  Bkinston,  Joseph  Curteis,  Philip  Th.  Lehnmann 
(Penn's  secretary),  Peter  Cock,  Nicholas  More,  Thomas  Holme, 
and  one  or  two  more,  with  the  names  of  a  number  of  Indians. 

Two  days  later,  June  25,  another  deed  was  made.  The  gran- 
tee, this  time,  was  Wingebone.  He  "freely"  granted  and  dis- 
posed of  all  his  lands  "lying  on  ye  west  side  of  ye  Skolkill  river, 
beginning  from  ye  first  falls  of  ye  same  all  along  upon  ye  said  river 
and  backward  of  the  ye  same,  so  far  as  my  right  goeth."  He  was 
to  receive  "so  much  wampum  and  other  things"  as  Penn  should  be 
willing  to  give  him. 

288 


The  Beginnings  of  Penn's  Colony 

July  14,  Secane  and  Icquoqiiehan,  who  claimed  to  be — accord- 
ing to  the  white  men's  scrivenership — "Indian  Shackamakers  and 
right  owners  of  ye  lands  lying  between  Manaiunk,  alias  Schulkill. 
and  Macopanackhan.  alias  Chester  river/'  conveyed  to  Penn  all 
their  right  and  title  in  the  lands  lying  between  these  rivers,  "be- 
ginning on  ye  west  side  of  Manaiunk,  called  Consohockhan,  and 
from  thence  by  a  westerly  line"  to  Chester  river.  In  this  case 
the  consideration  was  specifically  fixed,  and  may  be  worth  giving 
in  full.  The  two  sachems  were  to  have  150  fathoms  of  wampum, 

14  blankets.  68  yards  of  "duffels."  28  yards  of  "stroud-waters." 

15  guns.  3  great  kettles,  15  small  kettles,  16  pairs  stockings,  7 
pairs  shoes,  6  caps.  12  gimlets.  6  drawing-knives.  15  pairs  scissors. 
15  combs,  5  papers  of  needles.  10  tobacco-boxes,  32  pounds  of 
powder,  3  papers  of  beads,  2  papers  of  red  lead.  15  coats.  15  shirts, 
15  axes.  15  knives,  30  bars  of  lead,  18  glasses  and  15  hoes,  all  of 
which  they  acknowledged  receiving. 

It  is  notable  that  in  this  list  no  l)randy  or  other  "strong 
liquors"  appeared.  In  Markham's  purchase,  in  Rucks  county, 
the  previous  year,  he  gave  the  contracting  chiefs  six  ankers  of 
"rumme."  cider  and  beer.  Penn  was  more  scrupulous  than  his 
lieutenant,  and  doubtless  realized  more  strongly  the  injury  d()ne 
the  Indians  by  drink. 

Another  deed  the  same  day,  July  14.  was  made  by  Nenes- 
kickan.  Malebore,  and  two  others,  for  lands  "betwixt  Manaiunk 
and  Pemmapecka,  as  far  as  ye  hill  called  Conshohockin,  on  ye  said 
river  Manaiunk,  and  from  thence  by  a  northwest  line  to  ye  river 
of  Pemmapecka." 

Se])teml)er  lo,  "Kekela])pan.  of  Opasiskunk""  sold  "'tliat  half" 
of  his  lands  "betwixt  Susquehanna  and  Delaware,  with  lieth  on 
ye  Susf|uehanna  side,"  and  October  18.  Machaloha.  who  claimed 
sachemship  on  "Delaware  river.  Chesapeake  bay,  and  up  to  ye 
Falls  of  Susquehanna  river."  conveyed  his  rights  in  his  land. 

To  define  exactly  the  extent  of  the.se  purchases  would  evidently 
be   impossible.       That   the  neii^^hboring   Indians   had   now   been 

I  — 19  289 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

nearly  all  treated  \vith  appears  a  fair  conclusion.  If  we  assume, 
as  has  been  suggested  earlier  in  this  chapter,  that  the  site  of  Phila- 
delphia had  been  bought  by  Markham  in  a  treaty  earlier  than  that 
(July  15,  1682),  whose  deed  is  the  first  one  preserved  in  our  rec- 
ords, we  may  consider  that  Penn  had  very  fairly  extinguished  the 
Indian  claim  to  southeastern  Pennsylvania  for  twenty  to  thirty 
miles  around  the  spot  where  Independence  Hall  now  stands.  That 
the  Indians  fully  comprehended  the  effect  of  their  bargain  is 
hardly  probable.  That  they  were  more  kindly  dealt  with  than 
had  been  usual  when  the  white  man  came  to  take  the  red  man's 
land  is  beyond  reasonable  dispute. 

The  importance  of  acquiring  consent  of  the  Indians  to  his  pos- 
session of  the  interior  country,  as  well  as  that  around  Philadelphia, 
appeared  plain  to  Penn's  mind,  and  in  the  summer  (1683)  he  sent 
agents  to  confer  with  the  Iroquois  chiefs  of  New  York.  Their 
overlordship  of  the  tribes  on  the  Susquehanna  was  evidently 
known  to  him,  and  their  conquest  of  the  Susquehannocks'  "fort" 
was  an  e^•ent  so  recent  as  to  be  common  knowledge  among  the 
colonists.  A  letter  remains,  written  by  Penn  in  July,  1683,  to 
Acting  Governor  Brockholls  of  New  York,  commending  to  his 
favor  two  agents  whom  Penn  is  sending  to  treat  with  the  sachems 
of  the  Mohawks  and  Senecas  and  their  allied  tribes  for  a  release 
of  the  Susquehanna  lands.  Their  business,  Penn  wTote  to  Brock- 
holls. "is  to  treat  ....  about  some  Susquehanash  land  on 
ye  back  of  us,  where  I  intend  a  colony  forthwith,  a  place  so  out  of 
the  way  that  a  small  thing  could  not  carry  some  people  to  it." 

The  two  agents  thiis  sent  were  William  Haige,  the  Pennsyl- 
vania surveyor,  already  frequently  mentioned,  and  James  Graham, 
a  resident  of  New  York,  an  alderman  of  that  city,  afterward  at- 
torney-general. They  appear  to  have  gone  to  Albany  in  August, 
and  their  proceedings  there  caused  great  alarm,  as  we  shall  see. 

A  new  governor  at  this  juncture  reached  New  York,  displac- 
ing Brockholls.  He  was  Colonel  Thomas  Dongan.  He  ar- 
rived on  the  25th  of  August,  having  come  over  from  Boston, 

290 


The  Beginnings  of   Penn's  Colony 

where — at  Xantasket — his  ship  had  made  port.  Dongan  is  of 
interest  to  our  study  of  Pennsyh-ania  history,  for  in  his  service  as 
Governor  of  the  adjoining;'  ])ro\ince  from  August.  KS83.  to  August 
1688,  he  t(_)uched  at  many  points  the  life  of  this  colony.  He  was 
the  younger  son  of  an  Irish  haronet.  Sir  John  Dongan.  and  a 
nephe\\-  of  the  celeln-ated  Richard  Talhot.  who  Ijecame  Earl  and 
Duke  of  Tyrconnel.  Born  in  1634.  he  became  a  colonel  in  the 
royal  army  after  the  Restoration  of  Charles  II.,  served  in  France, 
and  was  lieutenant-governor  at  Tangier  in  Africa.  He  was  a 
Roman  Catholic,  like  his  patron  the  Duke  of  York,  and  an  enter- 
prising, active  and  intelligent  man.  His  acquaintance  with  the 
French  and  their  language  helped  to  qualify  him  to  manage  the 
delicate  relations  of  New  York  with  Canada  and  the  Iroquois  In- 
dians. 

Charged  by  his  instructions  to  be  careful  of  the  interests  of 
the  .Duke  of  York,  the  new  Governor  heard  of  the  negotiations  of 
Penn's  agents  with  concern,  and  directed  the  Albany  justices  to 
report  to  him  on  the  matter.  They  were  themselves  stricken 
with  panic.  They  feared  that  Penn  would  plant  a  strong  settle- 
ment on  the  Susquehanna — a  thing-  which  in  fact  was  not  yet  pos- 
sible, nor  to  be  so  for  half  a  century — and  that  the  Iroquois  In- 
dians, instead  of  bringing  their  furs  to  the  Hudson,  would  send 
them  southward.  An  "extraordinary  meeting"  of  the  justices 
was  called  September  7.  Five  assembled.  They  had  before 
them  such  of  the  chiefs  as  could  be  hastily  brought  in — two  of  the 
Cayugas,  and  "a  Susquehanna."  The  Indians  were  questioned 
closely  as  to  the  "situation  of  Susquehanna  river,"  and  its  geo- 
graphical and  trade  relations  with  the  New-  York  settlements,  es- 
pecially that  at  Albany.  l"!ie  information  elicited  and  minuted 
is  still  of  interest.  The  Indians  said  it  was  "one  da}""s  journey 
from  the  Mohawk  castles  to  the  lake  where  the  Susquehanna  river 
rises,  and  then  ten  days'  journey  to  the  Sus(|uehanna  castles." 
It  was  one  and  a  half  days'  journey  by  land  from  Oneida  "to  the 
"kill  which  falls  into  Susquehanna  river,"  and  one  day  thence  to  the 

291 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 


river  itself.  It  was  half  a  day  by  land,  and  one  day  by  water  from 
Onondaga  to  the  river.  From  Caynga  it  was  one  and  a  half 
days'  by  land  and  water  to  the  river.  From  the  "four  castles"  of 
the  Senecas  it  was  three  days"  journey  by  land  and  two  by  water 
to  the  river,  and  then  five  days  by  water  to  the  Susquehanna 


Old  Trappe   Church 

Erected  1743  near  Schwenksville;  occupied  in 
the  fall  of  1777  by  a  portion  of  the  army  under 
General  Armstrong.     Photo  by  D.  E.   Brinton 

castles,  making  ten  in  all,  and  this  trip  was  "very  easy,  they  con- 
veying their  packs  in  canoes." 

These  close  questions  being  asked,  the  chiefs  inquired  not  un- 
naturally the  reason  for  such  inquisition.  Why  did  the  justices 
want  to  know  ?  W^ere  the  white  men  coming  to  Susquehanna  ? 
They  were  asked  in  turn  how  that  would  suit  them,  and  candidly 
said  very  well.  It  would  be  much  easier  and  nearer  for  trade 
than  Albany  offered,  "insomuch  as  they  must  bring  everything 
thither  on  their  backs."  This  was  a  most  alarming  statement ! 
The  fur  trade  of  the  Iroquois  was  the  source  of  Albany's  impor- 

292 


The  Beginnings  of  Penn's  Colony 

tance.  The  justices  closed  the  meeting  and  wrote  hastily  to  the 
Governor,  urging  him  to  find  ''an  expedient  for  preventing"  the 
acquisition  by  Penn  of  a  Susquehanna  Indian  title.  A  little  later, 
Septeml)er  iS,  Dongan  achised  them  that  he  had  conferred  with 
his  Council  and  that  it  was  thought  "very  convenient  and  neces- 
sary to  putt  a  stoj)])  to  all  proceedings  in  Mr.  Penn's  affairs  with 
the  Indians  until  liis  bounds  and  limits  be  adjusted."  They  were 
therefore  instructed  "to  suffer  no  manner  of  ])roceedings  in  that 
business,"  until  they  should  be  further  advised. 

The  Imsiness  was  thus  halted  for  the  time.  The  Indian  chiefs 
were  persuaded  to  say  to  Haige  that  they  had  no  right  to  sell  the 
lands,  having  promised  them  to  "Corlaer" — their  generic  name 
for  the  New  York  governors — on  some  pre\ious  occasion,  and  to 
refuse  therefore  to  go  on  with  the  negotiations.  Then  Dongan, 
to  fix  the  business  securely  in  his  own  hands,  procured  from  some 
of  the  chiefs  a  grant  of  the  lands  to  himself.  Precisely  what  value 
he  attached  to  this,  and  exactly  how  he  considered  his  actions 
would  look  to  the  Duke  of  York  and  to  Penn,  may  be  a  question, 
but  he  wrote  to  the  latter  (October  lo)  avowing  his  purchase,  and 
again  (October  22)  saying  it  had  further  been  confirmed  by  the 
Indians  and  that  he  and  Penn  would  not  "fall  out"  over  it. 

And  here  tlie  account  may  as  well  be  completed,  though  we 
shall  go  somewhat  further  in  the  order  of  time  than  our  present 
narrative  demands.  In  1696,  Dongan.  who  described  himself  as 
then  "of  London,"  executed  a  "lease  and  release"  to  William  Penn 
of  "all  that  tract  of  land  lying  upon,  on  both  sides,  the  river  com- 
monly called  or  known  by  the  name  of  the  Susquehanna  river,  and 
the  lands  adjacent,  bei^inning  at  the  mountains  or  head  of  the  said 
river,  and  running  as  far  as  and  unto  the  Ba\-  of  Chesapeak."  it 
being  the  same  "which  the  said  Thomas  Dongan  lately  innxhased 
of  or  had  gi\'cn  him  Ijy  the  Sinneca  Susquehanah  Indians."  This 
conveyance  cost  Penn.  on  the  face  of  the  release,  a  hundred 
pounds,  but  the  expense  may  have  l)een  greater.  It  gave  him. 
at  any  rate,  whatever  Indian  title  to  the  Susquehanna  Dongan  had 

293 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and  Federal 

procured  in  1683.  In  a  treaty  made  in  1700,  at  Pennsbury.  with 
two  chiefs  of  the  Susquehanna  region — whose  names,  Widaagh 
and  Andaggy-Junkquah,  signify  nothing  to  us — they  granted  to 
Penn  all  the  rights  they  possessed  on  the  river,  and  "ratified  and 
confirmed"  the  deed  of  Dongan. 

These  proceedings  between  1683  and  1700,  in  reference  to  the 
Susquehanna,  caused  other  perturbations  at  New  York  than  those 
we  have  recited.  A  petition  forwarded  from  that  city  in  1691 
by  tlie  Provincial  Council  to  King  William  III.  earnestly  repre- 
sented the  importance  of  dispossessing  Penn  altogether.  The 
petition  was  signed  by  Richard  Ingoldsby,  Frederick  Phillips, 
Stephen  Courtland,  Nicholas  Bayard,  and  others.  The  Susque- 
hanna, they  said,  "is  situate  in  the  middle  of  the  Sinnekes  coun- 
try." and  was  given  to  the  crown  "many  years  before  Mr.  Penn 
had  his  patent."  He,  however,  was  now  endeavoring  to  buy  it 
of  the  Indians,  in  order  to  draw  away  the  trade  to  his  province, 
and  the  Council  assured  the  King  that  this  would  do  him  great 
damage.  "All  the  nations  with  whom  Albany  hath  a  trade  live 
at  the  head  of  Susquehanna  river,"  they  said,  and  declared  that 
"the  inhabitants  at  Albany"  had  "only  seated  themselves  there, 
and  addicted  their  minds  to  the  Indian  language  and  the  mysteries 
of  the  said  trade,  with  purpose  to  manage  it."  They  strongly 
urged  that  if  Penn  should  have  his  title  to  Pennsylvania  confirmed, 
it  should  extend  no  further  on  the  Susquehanna  "than  the  falls 
thereof,"  but  they  much  preferred  that  Connecticut,  East  and 
West  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  "Three  Lower  Counties"  on 
the  Delaware  should  be  re-annexed  to  New  York,  which  they 
were  of  opinion  "w^ould  then  be  a  government  of  sufficient  ex- 
tent"— for  what  or  whom  they  did  not  explain. 

Even  this  representation,  however,  did  not  avail — at  least  not 
permanently.  Its  date,  August  6,  1691,  coincides  with  the  time 
when  efforts  began  to  be  vigorously  made  to  dispossess  Penn. 
these  finally  resulting  in  the  Fletcher  episode,  1693  to  1695,  when 
for  the  first  time  and  last  time  a  "royal"  governor  had  authority 

294 


The  Beginnings  of   Pcnn's  Colony 

in  Pennsyhania.  The  envy  and  hostility,  ^rowino-  into  malevo- 
lence, of  the  official  influences  in  other  c<ilonies,  at  many  times, 
toward  this  province  and  its  rulers,  were  as  discreditable  as  they 
were  unjustifiable.  Penn  himself  was  a  shining  mark  for  those 
who  disliked  his  religious  views,  dreaded  his  democratic  system, 
or  despised  his  humane  policy,  or  hated  all  of  these. 

\\'e  return,  now,  to  the  summer  of  1683,  and  to  such  events 
as  lia\c  not  been  related.  The  letters  of  Penn  to  his  correspond- 
ents in  England  give  details  of  the  progress  of  the  colony.  He 
wrote  in  July  to  Colonel  Henry  Sydney,  afterwards  Earl  of  Rom- 
ney,  and  brother  of  Algernon  Sydney.  He  had  been  here,  he 
said,  about  five  months,  and  had  had  his  health  ;  he  found  the  coun- 
try wholesome,  and  the  land,  air,  and  water  all  fjood.  "We  have 
laid  out  a  town  a  mile  long  and  two  miles  deep.  On  each  side  of 
the  town  runs  a  navigable  ri\-er.  tlie  least  as  broad  as  the  Thames 
at  Woolwich,  the  other  about  a  mile  over.  T  think  we  have  near 
about  eighty  houses  built,  and  about  three  hundred  farms  settled 
round  the  town.  I  fancy  it  already  better  than  the  Weald  of  Kent, 
our  soil  bein_o-  clearer,  and  the  country  not  much  closer:  a  coach 
might  be  driven  twenty  miles  end-ways.  We  have  had  fifty  sail 
of  shij^s  and  small  vessels  since  the  last  summer,  in  our  river, 
which  shows  a  good  beginning.''  \\'ritin.o-  to  the  Lord  Chief 
Justice,  \orth,  the  same  date,  he  says,  "a  fair  we  have  had,  and 
weekly  market  to  which  the  ancient  lowly  inhabitants" — the 
Swedes  and  l^utch,  doubtless — ''come  to  sell  their  i~»roduce.  to  their 
profit,  and  our  accommodation."  Later,  July  28,  he  writes  the 
Earl  of  Sunderland,  describing  the  Lidians,  alluding  especially  to 
the  injury  done  them  by  drink.  Though,  he  says,  "many  of  the 
old  men  and  some  of  ye  youno-  peiii)le  will  not  touch  it."  yet  "be- 
cause in  those  fits  they  mischief  both  themselves  and  others.  T  have 
forbid  to  sell  them  any." 

The  minutes  of  the  Provincial  CJ)uncil  record  the  de\'eloping 
life  of  the  coh^ny.  Meetings  of  the  Council  were  held  frequently. 
During  the  sittings  of  the  Assembly  it  met  daily,  and  after  the  ad- 

295 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

journment  of  the  spring  Assembly  (April  3).  nearly  forty  meet- 
ings were  held  during  the  year  1683.  At  all  of  these  Governor 
Penn  was  present  and  presiding.  Of  the  eighteen  members  of 
the  Council  as  many  as  twelve  attended  a  few  times,  but  usually 
not  more  than  half  that  number.  The  business  dealt  with  was, 
as  alreadv  has  been  said,  both  executive  and  judicial,  and,  in  con- 
junction with  the  Assembly,  legislative  also.  There  were  ap- 
peals from  the  county  courts.  In  one  instance  the  justices  of 
Philadelphia  county  had  presumed  to  pass  upon  a  case  belonging 
in  Bucks,  and  the  Council  imposed  a  fine  upon  them  of  forty 
pounds.  The  passengers  on  a  vessel  arrived  in  the  river  preferred 
charges  against  the  master  for  abuse,  and  taking  their  private  sup- 
ply of  water  and  beer.  "The  Governor  gave  the  master  a  repri- 
mand, and  advised  him  to  go  with  the  passengers,  and  make  up 
the  business,  which  he  did."  Three  men  were  tried  for  making 
silver  coins,  "Spanish  bitts  and  Boston  money."  The  coins  looked 
well,  and  were  gladly  accepted  as  currency,  but  the  makers  ad- 
mitted that  they  contained  too  much  alloy  of  copper.  The  grand 
jury  that  passed  upon  the  indictment  in  this  case  was  the  first  in 
Pennsvlvania,  and  so  was  the  trial  jury  which  heard  the  testimony. 
In  the  lists  of  the  two  are  names  of  some  of  the  most  prominent 
early  settlers — Thomas  Lloyd,  afterward  lieutenant-governor; 
Enoch  Flower,  teacher  of  the  first  school  in  Philadelphia ;  Nicholas 
Wain.  John  Blunston,  Thomas  Fitzwater.  John  Claypoole.  Robert 
Turner.  Andrew  Bengston,  Dennis  Rochford,  and  others.  All 
the  accused  were  convicted,  and  Pickering,  the  principal,  was  sen- 
tenced by  the  Governor  to  replace  his  over-alloyed  coins  with  good 
money,  to  pay  a  fine  of  forty  pounds  "toward  ye  building  of  a  new 
court-house  in  this  Towne,"  and  to  give  security  for  his  future 
"good  abearance."  The  other  two  were  less  severely  dealt  with ; 
one  was  fined  ten  pounds  for  the  court-house  fund,  and  the  other 
sentenced  to  "sitt  an  hour  in  the  stocks  to-morrow  morning." 

A  ship  called  the  Mary  of  Southampton,  which  had  come  into 
port  with  passengers  from  England,  was  seized,  November  2t,  by 

296 


Thomas  Penn 


Member  of  the  Council,  1732;  and  after  the 
Fort  Stanwix  treaty,  1-68;  feudal  lord  of  more 
than  25,000.000  acres  and  the  inhabitants  there- 
on. Photographed  especially  for  this  work  by 
J.  F.  Sachse  from  canvas  in  Historical  Society 
of   Pennsylvania 


The  Beginnings  of   Penii's  Colony 

the  Council,  it  being  found  that  she  was  sailing  under  a  false  name, 
being  in  reality  a  "Scottish  bottom,''  the  Alexander,  of  Inverness, 
"noe  ways  made  free  to  trade  with  any  of  his  Majesty's  planta- 
tions in  America,"  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  Act  of  Par- 
liament. The  ship  was  publicly  condemned,  and  perhaps  sold ; 
the  canny  but  too  ventursome  Scotch  master  had  to  learn  that  the 
trade  of  the  American  colonies  was  intended  for  the  benefit  of 
English  merchants  by  the  carefully  devised  system  (^f  the  Naviga- 
tion laws. 

A  certain  Anthony  Weston  was  sharply  dealt  with.  also.  He 
seems  to  have  circulated  some  kind  of  a  "paper"  or  "proposal," 
which  was  regarded  as  seditious  or  offensive,  and  the  minutes 
record,  January  i6,  1683-4:  "The  Governor  and  Provincial 
Council  have  thought  fit  that  tf)r  the  great  presumption  and  Con- 
tempt of  this  Government  and  authority,  that  Anto.  Weston  be 
whypt  at  ye  market  place  on  market  daye  three  times,  each  time 
to  have  ten  lashes  at  12  of  the  clock  at  noone.  this  being  ye  first 
day."  Several  "freemen"  who  "subscribed  to  Anto.  Weston's 
proposals''  were  to  give  bonds  in  fifty  pounds  eacli  for  their  good 
behavior. 

A  case  of  difficulty  came  up  in  reference  to  the  estate  left  be- 
hind him  by  Benjamin  Acrod.  A  coroner's  inquest  had  been  held 
upon  his  body,  and  the  jury  found  that  he  "killed  himself  with 
drinke."  Probably  the  jury  meant  only  to  emphasize  his  intem- 
perance, but  the  verdict  on  its  face  implied  suicide.  A  special  ad- 
ministrator of  his  estate  was  appointed,  and  the  Governor  express- 
ly relinquished  any  claim  he  might  have  to  the  goods  of  one  dying 
by  his  own  hand. 

In  the  records.  December  26.  we  have  the  first  indication  of  a 
teacher  and  school  in  Philadelphia.  The  minute  says:  "The 
Govr  and  Provll  Council  having  taken  into  their  Serious  Consider- 
ation the  great  Necessity  there  is  of  a  School  Master  for  ye  In- 
struction &  Sober  Education  of  Youth  in  the  towne  of  Philadel- 
phia, Sent  for  Enoch  Flower,  an  Inhabitant  of  the  said  Towne, 

299 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

who  for  tweiit}-  }ear  ])ast  hath  1)ecn  exercised  in  that  care  and  Ini- 
ploymt  in  Engianch  to  whom  haveing  Comiinicated  tlieir  Minds. 
he  Embraced  it  upon  these  following  Termes :  to  Learn  to  read 
English  48  by  the  Quarter,  to  Learn  to  read  and  write  6s  by  ye 
Quarter,  to  learn  to  read.  Write  and  Cast  accot  8s  by  Quarter ; 
for  Boarding  a  Scholler.  that  is  to  say.  dyet.  Washing.  Lodging, 
&  Schooling.  Tenn  pounds  for  one  whole  year." 

From  time  to  time  appointments  made  by  the  Governor  were 
announced  to  the  Council.  May  2,  "the  Governor  informed  the 
Councill  that  he  hath  made  choyce  of  Nich  :  Moore  to  be  Secretary 
of  ye  Provincial  Council!."  The  flurry  over  his  "unreasonable 
and  imprudent  discourse"  in  March  had  subsided.  December  27 : 
"This  day,  Thomas  Lloyd  was  sent  for  before  the  board,  and  ye 
Governor  ^^•as  pleased  to  put  him  in  Master  of  ye  Rolls,  who  doth 
solemnly  promise  to  officiate  therein  with  care  and  diligence." 

To  this  time  belongs  the  first  and  only  trial  for  witchcraft 
known  to  Pennsylvania  history.  We  may  remember  that  a  little 
later,  1692,  the  terrible  experiences  of  Massachusetts,  the  "Salem 
craze,"  began.  On  the  Delaware,  no  doubt,  the  witchcraft  super- 
stition existed  among  the  pioneer  settlers,  but,  as  this  trial  showed, 
it  was  easily  possible  to  prevent  its  running  to  serious  lengths. 

In  February,  1683-4,  the  minutes  of  the  Provincial  Council 
record  the  case.  On  the  7th.  Margaret  Matson  and  Yeshoo  Hen- 
drickson,  two  Swedish  women,  "were  examined  and  about  to  be 
proved  witches :"  whereupon  the  Council  ordered  that  Neels  Mat- 
son  should  give  bail  in  fifty  pounds  for  his  wife's  further  appear- 
ance on  the  27th  of  the  month,  and  Hendrick  Jacobson^  did  the 
same  for  his  wife.  On  the  27th,  the  Council  being  again  met.  a 
grand  jury  was  present  and  Governor  Penn  "gave  them  their 
charge."  The  Attorney-General  handed  them  a  presentment  upon 
which  they  made  the  return  of  true  bill.  A  trial  jury  was  then 
empanelled;  it  included  our  old  acquaintance.  Robert  Wade,  of 

'The  curious  twists  of  the  Swedish  naming 
will  be  noted  here.  The  husband's  and  wife's 
family  names  are  different. 


The   Beginnings  of  Penn's  Colony 

Chester ;  and  tlie  trial  of  Margaret  Matsoii  proceeded.  She  plead 
not  guilty.  The  record  is  of  such  interest  that  we  may  take  it  as 
it  stands  in  the  minutes,  with  slight  abridgment : 

"Henry  Drystreet  attested,  Saith  he  was  tould  20  years  agoc.  that  the  pris- 
oner at  the  Barr  was  a  Witch,  &  that  Severall  Cows  were  bewitcht  by  her; 
also,  that  James  SaunderHng's  mother  tould  him  that  she  bewitched  her  cow, 
but  afterwards  said  it  was  a  mistake,  and  that  her  Cow  should  doe  well  againe, 
for  it  was  not  her  Cow  but  an  Other  Person's  that  should  Dye. 

"Charles  Ashcom  attested,  saith  that  Anthony's  Wife  being  aske.-i  why  she 
^ould  her  Cattle;  was  because  her  mother  had  Bewitcht  them,  having  taken 
the  Witchcraft  of  Hcndrick's  Cattle,  and  put  it  on  their  Oxen  ;  She  myght  Keep 
but  noe  Other  Cattle,  and  also  that  one  night  the  Daughter  of  ye  Prisoner 
called  him  up  hastely,  and  when  he  came  she  sayd  there  was  a  great  Light  but 
Tust  before,  and  an  Old  woman  with  a  Knife  in  her  hand  at  ye  Bedd's  feet, 
and  therefore  shee  cryed  out  and  desired  Jno.  Syincock  to  take  away 
his  Calves,  or  Else  she  would  send  them  to  Hell. 

"Annakey  Coolin  attested,  saith  her  husband  tooke  the  Heart  of  a  Calfe 
that  Dyed,  as  they  thought,  by  Witchcraft,  and  Boyled  it,  \vhereupon  the  Pris- 
oner at  ye  Barr  came  in  and  asked  them  what  they  were  doing ;  they  said  boyl- 
ing  of  fleash ;  she  said  they  had  better  they  had  Boyled  the  Bones,  with  sev- 
eral other  unseemly  Expressions. 

"-Margaret  Mattson  saith  that  She  Valines  not  Drystrect's  Evidence;  but 
if  Sanderlin's  mother  had  come,  she  would  have  answered  her;  also  denyeth 
Charles  Ashcom's  Attestation  at  her  Soul,  and  Saith  where  is  my  Daughter; 
let  her  come  and  say  so. 

"Annakey  Cooling's  attestation  concerning  the  Gees,  she  denyeth,  saying 
she  was  never  out  of  her  Canoe,  and  also  that  she  never  said  any  such  things 
concerning  the  Calve's  heart. 

"Jno.  Cock  attested,  sayeth  he  Knows  nothing  of  the  matter. 

"Tlieo.  Balding's  attestation  was  read,  and  Tho  Bracy  attested,  saith  it  is 
a  True  copy. 

"The  Prisoner  denyeth  all  things,  and  saith  that  the  Witnesses  speak  only 
by  hearsay. 

"After  wch  ye  Govr  gave  the  jury  their  Charge  concerning  ye  Prisoner  at 
ye  Barr. 

"The  jury  went  forth,  and  upon  their  Returne  Brought  her  in  Guilty  of 
haveing  the  Comon  fame  of  a  witch,  but  not  guilty  in  manner  and  forme  as 
Shee  stands  Indicted. 

"Neels  Mattson  and  Antho.  Xeelson  Enters  into  a  Recognizance  of  fifty 
pounds  apiece,  for  the  good  behavior  of  Getro  Hendrickson  for  six  months.'' 

The  tide  of  immigration  from  countries  other  than  England, 
which  was  to  swell  to  such  a  lieight  in  years  to  come,  now  made 
its  first  appearance.  The  persecutions  of  the  Huguenots  in 
France,  under  Louis  the  Fourteenth — now  drawing  near  the  close 
of  his  long  and  evil  reign — brought  a  group  of  these  energetic  peo- 

301 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

pie  into  Pennsylvania.  September  lo  (1683),  the  Council  min- 
utes record  that  "these  persons  following  did  solemnly  promise  be- 
fore this  honorable  board  faith  and  allegiance  to  the  king,  and 
fidelity  and  lawful  obedience  to  William  Penn,  Proprietor  and 
Governor :  Capt.  Gabrielle  Rappe,  Andrew  Learrin,  Andrew  Li- 
bert, Peter  Meinardeau,  Uslee,  Lees  Cosard,  Nich.  Riboleau,  Jacob 
Raquier,  Louis  Boumat."  Rappe  is  identified  in  the  Huguenot 
chronicles  as  coming  from  the  Isle  of  Rhe  (La  Rochelle)  on  the 
west  coast  of  France,  and  Riboleau  was  probably  from  the  same 
place.  In  a  letter  the  following  year  (1684)  to  the  Marquis  of 
Halifax,  Penn  speaks  of  Captain  Rappe  as  having  begun  to  make 
wine  from  the  native  grapes — an  industry  on  which  the  Governor 
bestowed  much  concern,  but  which  never  showed  any  very  valuable 
result.  His  letters  refer  frequently  to  the  subject.  He  speaks 
of  one  of  the  native  grapes— "the  great  red  grape,  called  \)x  ignor- 
ance the  fox  grape,"  which  "by  art,  doubtless,  may  be  cultivated 
to  an  excellent  wine."  "There  is  a  white  kind  of  muskatel.  and 
a  little  black  grape" — the  "chicken  grape"  no  doubt — "like  the 
cluster  grape  of  England."  Again,  he  says  :  "There  grow  wild 
an  incredible  number  of  vines,  that  tho'  savage,  and  so  not  so  ex- 
cellent, beside  that  much  wood  and  shade  sour  them,  they  yield  a 
pleasant  grape,  and  I  have  drank  a  good  clarett,  though  small  and 
greenish,  of  Capt.  Rappe's  vintage  of  the  savage  grape." 

More  important,  however,  than  the  little  party  of  Frenchmen, 
were  the  colonists  that  came  this  year,  1683,  ^^'om  Wales  and  from 
Germany.  A  few  Welsh  had  arrived  even  before  Penn,  as  we 
have  seen,  including  the  company  in  the  Lion,  in  August,  1682, 
and  some  had  come  in  the  Welcome  with  him.  This  year  others 
arrived,  and  the  "Welsh  Tract"  west  of  Philadelphia,  including  the 
townships  of  Merion,  Haverford,  Radnor,  and  others,  began  to  be 
compactly  occupied  by  industrious  settlers. 

Persecution  on  account  of  their  religious  opinions  had  moved 
manv  of  the  newcomers,  but  they  felt,  besides,  the  hope  of  better- 
ing their  condition  in  a  new  land,  under  liberal  and  just  laws.   The 

302 


'i) c i.iiJt.lt('r  |ni  w \wtim  ^W ni) 


ii:iiilii.:i  uii»i'iniilMiiH[[iiii[nii.imiii]iiW 


Nicliulas  Louis  Zinzendorf 


Count;  bishop;  missionary;  gave  name  of  Beth- 
lehem to  Moravian  tract  on  the  Lehigh  river; 
traveled  extensively  in  Pennsylvania  doing  mis- 
sionary work,  1742 


The  Beginnings  of   Pcnn's  Colony 

Welsh  who  now  came  were  mostly  Friends,  upon  whom  the  Eng- 
lish laws  of  ''conformity"  still  bore  heavily.  In  Germany  the 
patient  and  non-resistant  followers  of  Menno  Simon,  the  Mennon- 
ites,  who  now  for  two  centuries  have  been  an  important  element  in 
Pennsylvania's  population,  had  suffered  untold  miseries  for  a  cent- 
ury and  a  half  before  the  American  door  of  release  opened 
to  them.  So,  too,  up  the  Rhine,  in  the  Palatinate,  tlic  desolations 
of  the  Thirty  Years'  War  had  hardly  begun  to  be  repaired  when 
Turenne  was  sent  by  Louis  XI\^.  to  ravage  the  country  in  1674 — a 
])relude  only  to  the  still  more  cruel  and  effectual  destruction 
wrought  In"  the  armies  of  l>ouis  in  1689 — and  the  distressed  peo- 
ple there  were  ready  to  look  for  a  new  home,  even  across  the  ocean. 

There  arrived  at  Philadelphia  in  August  of  this  year  the  first 
of  the  German  settlers  in  Pennsylvania,  and  indeed  the  pioneer  of 
the  German  movement  to  America.  This  was  Francis  Daniel 
Pastorius.  Tie  was  now  thirty-two  years  old.  He  had  been 
born  in  S(Mnmerhausen.  September  26.  1651.  had  studied  at  some 
of  the  chief  universities  of  (lermany.  and  returning  to  Frankfort- 
(Mi-thc-AIain  in  1682  from  an  extended  lour,  learned  there  that  in 
response  to  the  invitations  of  Penn.  and  in  recollection  of  the  visit 
which  he  and  his  companions  had  paid  that  region  in  1677,  the  or- 
ganization of  a  company  had  been  begun,  the  "l^Vankfort  Com- 
pany,'' to  purchase  a  large  tract  of  land  in  .\merica.  Pastorius 
was  immediately  attracted  by  the  enterprise.  "After  T  had  suffi- 
ciently seen  the  h^uropean  provinces  and  countries,  and  the  threat- 
ening movements  of  war,  and  had  taken  to  heart  the  dire  changes 
and  disturbances  of  the  Fatherland."  he  says.  "1  was  impelled 
through  a  special  guidance  from  the  .Almighty,  to  i;n  to  Pennsyl- 
vania." Tie  be.^ged  his  father's  consent  to  his  emigration,  and 
this  being  secured,  he  became  the  ao;ent  of  the  Frankfort  Com- 
pany, and  prepared  to  dei:)art. 

Besides  the  grou])  of  h'rankfort  peo])lc  who  thus  were  inter- 
ested in  the  new  colony — none  of  whom,  however,  except  Pastor- 
ius, actually  came  over — two  other  German  groups  were  drawn 

i--'o  305 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

into  the  movement.  These  were  a  small  conijiany  of  l-'riends  at 
Kriegsheim  (called. l)y  William  Penn  Krisheim.  and  remcmhcred 
as  Cresheim  in  onr  (lermantown  of  Philadelphia),  six  miles  from 
Worms,  whom  Penn  visited  in  1677,  and  ^vho  now  came  to  Penn- 
s}-lvania:  and  a  larger  group  of  original  Meimonites.  most  of 
whom  then  or  later  became  Friends,  who  lived  at  Crefeld.  on  the 
lower  Rhine,  within  a  few  miles  of  the  line  of  Holland.  All  these 
had  heard  of  Penn  and  his  colony  through  the  ach-ertisements  and 
pamphlets,  translated  from  English  into  German,  which  Benjamin 
Furly,  the  Rotterdam  merchant,  agent  for  Penn.  had  spread  about. 
The  Crefeld  company  had  bought  their  land  in  two  transactions. 
Jacob  Telmer.  of  Crefeld,  engaged  in  business  as  a  merchant  in 
Amsterdam,  Jan  Streypers,  a  merchant  of  Kaldkirchen;  and  Dirck 
Sipman,  of  Crefeld,  had  purchased  from  Penn.  March  10,  1682. 
15.000  acres.  This  was  the  first  German  purchase.  June  11. 
1683,  three  other  Crefelders,  Govert  Remke,  Lenart  Arets.  and 
Jacob  Isaacs  Van  Bibber,  brought  3,000  acres. 

Pastorius  left  Frankfort  in  the  spring  of  1683,  and  passed 
down  the  Rhine.  At  Crefeld  he  conferred  wdth  some  of  the  in- 
tending emigrants,  at  Rotterdam  he  saw  Telmer,  and  doubt- 
less Benjamin  Furly,  and  at  London,  in  May  or  June,  he  bought 
from  Penn's  agents  15,000  acres.  The  ship  in  which  he  sailed 
was  the  America,  Joseph  Wasey  master,  which  left  London  June 
10,  and  reached  Philadelphia  August  20.  Thomas  Lloyd,  who 
came  from  Dolobran,  Wales,  was  a  fellow  passenger;  he  was  an 
older  man  than  Pastorious  and  brought  with  him  his  wife  and  nine 
children,  \\hile  the  vount:-  (German  was  still  a  bachelor. 


306 


CHAPTER  A'lII. 
Tin-:  EX(;i.iSH  sktti.i-:mi-:\'t 

TH  !■",  descendants  of  those  who  emigrated  from  \-arious  parts 
( )f  luirope  or  America  to  the  western  banks  of  the  Delaware 
in  the  two  last  decades  of  the  Seventeenth  Century,  in  a  gen- 
eration or  so  \\ere  blended,  and  absorbed  the  Swedes  and  Dutch. 
The  great  majority  of  those  emigrants  were  natives  of  England, 
and  made  Pennsvh  ania  an  English  community,  and  substituted  for 
every  other  mother  tongue  the  English  language  in  its  purity. 
From  the  West  Indies  came  Samuel  Carpenter.  Jonathan  Dick- 
inson, Isaac  Xorris,  and  others;  from  Xew  I'lngland,  Edward 
Shippen  and  Francis  Richardson ;  from  South  Carolina,  John 
Moore — all,  so  far  as  we  know,  natives  of  England.  Robert 
Turner,  Nicholas  Xewlin,  and  others  had  lixed  in  Ireland,  but 
were  English  by  birth  or  parentage.  The  Irish  (Quakers  were 
not  the  real  Irish :  the  Bearni  Feni  was  to  them  impossible  jargon, 
if  even  they  heard  it  from  the  peasants.  These  English-Irish  are 
to  be  distinguished  also  from  the  Scotch-Irish,  who  began  to  come 
in  the  second  decade  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,  and  possessed 
themselves  of  an  immense  region,  which  was  a  wilderness  until 
after  the  death  of  the  first  Proprietary,  (juite  a  number  of 
Scotchmen  had  settled  in  the  Jerseys,  and  in  what  is  now  the  State 
of  Delaware,  and  some  of  these  came  across  or  up  the  river. 
They  were  Lowlanders,  not  Celts.  In  fact,  about  the  only  rep- 
resentatives here  of  the  ancient  population  of  the  British  Isles 
were  the  Welsh.     The  preaching  of  Fox  and  other  Children  of 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and    Federal 

the  Ligiit.  as  the  Ouakers  first  ealled  themselxes.  Avas  l)etter  re- 
ceived by  the  i^entr)-  nt  Wales  than  1)\-  the  "cntrv  of  Engiand, 
and  those  who  settled  the  W^elsh  Tract  near  Philadelphia.  l)ring- 
ing  over  genealogical  trees  giving  each  generation  hack  to  Adam, 
were  of  higher  social  position  at  home  than  the  Anglo-Saxons 
whom  Penn's  agents  induced  to  come.  Some  had  been  to  college, 
or  studied  law  or  medicine,  and  were  well  read  in  Quaker  divin- 
ity; probably  all  were  familiar  with  the  English  language.  The 
Germans  who  settled  (lermantown  and  its  vicinity  must  be  dis- 
tinguished from  those  who  arrived  many  years  later,  and  Avere 
known  as  the  Pennsylvania  Dutch,  and  who  so  thoroughly  ad- 
hered to  their  dialect,  and  transmitted  it  to  their  descendants  that 
even  in  the  middle  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  the  people  of  the 
townships  settled  by  them,  it  is  said,  could  not  converse  with 
the  people  of  the  adjoining  townships  settled  by  Scotch-Irish, 
and  very  recently  a  German  edition  of  the  laws  and  public  docu- 
ments was  always  printed  by  the  State.  The  (jermans  who  came 
before  1700.  (^r  ver}-  soon  after,  were  Protestants  of  the  various 
sects  which  may  be  eml)raced  in  the  name  of  Pietists,  neither 
Lutherans  nor  Moravians.  Having  among  them  scholars  from 
the  universities  or  well  known  schools,  as  a  body  they  were  in  learn- 
ing the  eciuals,  if  not  the  superiors,  of  the  Welsh,  and  far  ahead  of 
the  English  colonists ;  but  in  that  day  even  the  lower  classes  of 
England  were  not  without  some  education,  and  there  were  a  good 
number  of  persons  in  Pennsylvania  of  neither  German  nor  \\^elsh, 
nor  yet  of  Swedish  extraction,  who  had  been  taught  Latin,  Greek, 
and  Hebrew.  The  gift  of  preaching  had  made  some  who  had 
not  been  educated  for  the  priesthood,  authors  of  controversial  or 
pious  writings.  The  Swedes  belonged  to  the  Church  of  Sweden, 
which  was  Lutheran  in  its  theology,  Episcopal  in  its  organization, 
although  no  bishop  e\'er  lived  here,  and  Erastian  in  its  theory  of 
mission.  The  clergy  of  Weccacoe  (Swanson  street  near  Wash- 
ington avenue,  Philadelphia),  Kingsessing  (Woodland  avenue, 
Philadelphia),    and    Tapper    Merion    (Bridgeport,    Montgomery 

308 


The  Eiii^lish   Settlement 

county),  were  appointed  by  the  Crown  of  Sweden  until  long  after 
the  xA.merican  Revolution,  when  the  vestries  began  calling  presby- 
ters of  the  Protestant  Episcoi)al  Church  of  the  United  States  of 
America.      Ihcrc  was  no  congregation  of  the  Ciiurch  i)f  Kng- 


^^^^U^/t0^ 


Clergyman;     orator;     born      1714;     died     1770. 
From  an  old  engraving 

land  witliiii  tlic  limits  of  I'enns}l\ania,  notwithstanding  the  stip- 
ulation in  the  cliartcr  for  allowing  such,  until  i6g3;  nor  of  the 
Presbyterians  until  later.  ( )utside  of  the  Swedes  there  was  for  a 
long  time  no  ecclesiastical  organization  but  the  Society  of 
Friends.  The  colony  ma}-  be  said  to  ha\e  been  composed  of  its 
members.  Their  theology,  except  when  following  the  Apology  of 
Robert  Barclay,  was  rather  latitudinarian,  while  their  demeanor 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

was  most  precise.  The  laws  of  \\'illiam  Penn,  while  mild  in  the 
penalties,  were  decidedly  "blue"  in  the  prohibiticjns.  The  respect 
due  to  magistrates  was  insisted  upon  to  the  point  of  forbidding  a 
word  of  criticism.  With  some  feeling  of  gratitude  to  Penn,  there 
was  a  strong  sense  of  ecjuality.  A  body  of  husbandmen  and 
mechanics,  one  or  two  merchants,  and  a  few  school  teachers  and 
apothecaries,  were  establishing  an  Utopia  away  from  the  pomps 
and  vanities,  tyranny  and  injustice  of  the  world.  The  persons 
who  might  claim  to  be  the  patricians  of  the  new  province  were 
Penn's  kindred  and  connections  and  his  father's  companions  in 
arms,  but  when,  in  after  years,  something  like  a  local  aristocracy 
took  shape,  it  was  not  made  up  of  the  descendants  of  these,  and, 
too,  it  was  not  Quaker. 

By  birth,  education,  and  service  with  suffering  in  the  cause 
of  the  Quaker  religion,  Thomas  Llo}d  had  a  prominence  among 
the  settlers  next  to  Penn  and  Markham,  and  soon  after  arriving 
was  appointed  Master  of  the  Rolls,  and  on  the  loth  of  i  mo., 
1683-4.  was  elected  a  Provincial  Councillor.  Alarkham  was 
already    in    England    upon    Penn's  l)usiness    when,    in    August, 

1684,  Penn,  desirous  of  using  his  influence  at  Court  to  stop  the 
persecution  of  the  Quakers,  left  the  province,  commissioning  the 
the  Council  to  act  in  his  stead,  with  Lloyd  as  President.  He  also 
appointed  Lloyd  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal,  and  Lloyd,  Robert 
Turner,  and  James  Claypoole  (brother  of  John  Claypoole,  who 
married  Oliver  Cromwell's  daughter).  Commissioners  of  Prop- 
erty, to  grant  warrants  for  surveying  land,  and  to  issue  patents 
on  the  survey  being  duly  made  and  returned.  These  commis- 
sioners acted  only  two  years. 

The  Colony  witnessed  an  impeachment  trial  as  early  as  May. 

1685.  The  Assembly  presented  a  declaration  against  Nicholas 
Moore,  who  had  been  appointed  prior  or  first  judge  of  the  Pro- 
vincial Court,  and  was  also  a  member  of  Assembly ;  that  he,  among 
other  offenses,  assuming  "an  unlimited  and  arbitrary  power  be- 
yond the  prescription  or  laws  of  this  government  had  presumed" 

310 


The  English   Settlement 

to  appoint  the  time  of  the  provincial  circuits  without  the  direction 
of  the  Provincial  Council,  wherein-  the  several  counties  were  sur- 
prised hv  the  short  notice,  and  juries,  witnesses,  etc.,  could  not  be 
duly  summoned ;  that  he  had  refused  to  receive  a  verdict,  and  sent 
hack  a  jury  with  threats  many  times,  until  they  brought  in  a 
different  verdict;  that  in  a  civil  action  for  trover  and  conversion 
he  gave  judgment  of  felony,  and  condemned  the  defendant  to  be 
whipped ;  that  he  by  perverting  the  sense  of  a  witness  condemned 
him  for  perjury,  and  fined  him,  and  by  proclamation  rendered 
him  incapable  of  being  rectus  in  Curia;  that  he  censured  in  open 
court  the  decisions  of  preceding  judges;  that  he  reversed  the 
judgment  of  county  justices  in  a  matter  not  regularly  before  him ; 
that  he  declined  going  to  the  two  lower  circuits,  although  the  law- 
obliged  the  judges  to  go  spring  and  fall ;  and  that  he  declared 
that  he  was  not  accountable  to  the  President  and  Provincial  Coun- 
cil, by  despising  their  orders  and  precepts  :  therefore,  the  Assembly 
prayed  his  removal.  This  declaration.  Patrick  Robinson  said, 
was  drawn  ''at  hab  nab;"  so  the  Assembly  deemed  itself  insulted, 
and  in  a  body  complained  to  the  Council,  which  unanimously  de- 
clared the  expression  "indecent,  unallowalile.  and  to  be  dis- 
owned !"'  The  managers  of  the  impeachment,  in  proof  of  the  first 
charge  against  Moore,  showed  that  the  sheriff  of  Chester  county 
had  only  five  days  time  to  get  the  freemen  to  court.  In  regard 
to  sending  back  a  jury,  the  jury  had  given  £8  to  the  plaintiff, 
whose  declaration  was  for  £500;  Moore,  who  was  a  doctor,  not 
a  lawyer,  thereupon  said, "What  is  £8  in  comparison  of  £300? 
find  according  to  evidence  or  you  are  all  perjured."  So  the  jury 
went  out,  and  the  next  day  found  for  the  defendant  w'ith  costs !  It 
rather  seems  as  if  Moore  overreached  himself.  The  witness  con- 
victed of  perjury  was  John  Harrison.  Moore  asked  him  what 
he  knew  concerning  the  taking  of  a  hog.  Harri.son  said  he  knew 
nothing  of  the  taking  of  it,  for  he  was  in  Philadelphia.  Moore, 
after  several  other  questions,  asked  if  lie  had  seen  or  eaten  any  of  it. 
lie  said  he  had  both  seen  and  eaten.     Moore  told  the  jury  that  this 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

was  perjury.  Moore  had  called  the  Provincial  Council  fools  and 
loggerheads,  and  said  it  were  well  if  all  the  laws  had  dropped, 
and  there  would  never  be  good  times  as  long  as  Quakers  had  the 
administration.  Before  Moore's  impeachment  trial  was  finished 
he  was  very  ill,  and  a  neAv  set  of  Provincial  Judges  were  com- 
missioned. 


Whilcficld  House  or  Nazareth  Stockade 


George  Whitefield  commenced  the  erection  of 
this  building  in  1741,  to  be  used  as  a  Methodist 
school  for  negroes;  the  same  year  he  sold  the 
unfinished  building  to  Bishop  Spangenberg  of 
the  Moravian  church.  In  1743  work  was  re- 
sumed and  the  building  finished.  From  a 
sketch   made  especially  for  this  work. 


Lloyd,  desiring  to  l)e  relieved  of  office,  the  government  by  the 
Council  was  terminated  on  12  mo.  9,  1687-8,  when  there  was  re- 
ceived from  Penn  a  commission  to  five  persons,  Lloyd,  Turner, 
John  Simcock,  Arthin"  Cook,  and  John  Eckley  to  exercise  the 
powers  of  a  deputy-governor.  This  arrangement  lasted  about 
ten  months.      Penn  offered  the  lieutenant-governorshii)  again  to 

312 


The  Enirlish   Settlement 


'fc> 


Llovd.  but  lie  refused,  and.  no  either  Quaker  fit  for  it  being  willing 
to  accept,  Penn  conferred  it  upon  Capt.  John  Blackwell,  then  in 
New  I^ngland.  who  had  been  treasurer  of  the  army  in  the  time 
of  the  Coninionwcahli.  a  man  of  high  reputation  for  integrity, 
who  had  refused  a  great  office  in  Ireland  under  Charles  II  and 
James  11  l)ecause  it  depended  upon  perquisites.  He  was  a  Puri- 
tan, and  had  married  a  daughter  of  General  Lambert.  Nathan- 
iel Mather  (  .Mass.  Hist.  Coll.)  wrote  of  him  in  1684,  "For  serious 
reall  pietv  &  nobleness  of  spirit,  prudence,  etc..  I  have  not  been 
acquainted  with  man\-  tliat  ecjuall  him."  He  arri\ed  December 
17,  1688.  his  first  act.  strange  to  say.  being  the  setting  apart  of  a 
day  "for  solemn  thanksgiving  to  Almighty  God  for  His  inesti- 
mable blessing  to  his  Majesty's  kingdoms  and  dominions  l)y  the 
birth  of  a  Prince"  (James  H's  unfortunate  son,  who  had  come  so 
unwelcome  to  Protestant  England  that  his  parentage  was  im- 
pugned ) . 

Loyd,  still  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal  and  Master  of  the  Rolls, 
was  very  troublesome  to  Blackwell  throughout  his  whole  term  of 
office.  I^rst.  he  refused  to  pass  certain  commissions  under  the 
seal.  Afterwards,  as  he  was  going  to  New  York,  he  was  requested 
to  lea\e  the  seal  with  the  Council,  that  public  business  might 
not  he  obstructed,  but  he  declined,  declaring  it  out  of  its  power 
to  deprixe  a  man  of  an  office  which  he  held  for  life.  He  refused 
to  hand  over  the  official  communications  received  during  his 
presidency,  although  the  Council  resolved  that  all  letters  of  in- 
struction should  l)e  delivered  to  the  secretary,  and  such  parts  of 
other  letters  as  gave  any  instructions  should  be  copied  for  public 
use.  He  refused  to  seal  the  commission  for  a  Provincial  Court, 
declaring  the  document  "more  moulded  by  fancy  than  formed 
by  law."  Moreover,  he  undertook  to  appoint  as  Clerk  of  the 
Peace.  David  Lloyd,  whom  the  Lieutenant-Governor  and  Council 
had  just  suspended  for  refusing  to  pr(»duce  papers.  In  March. 
1689.  Thomas  Lloyd  was  by  Bucks  county  again  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Council,  but  the  Lieutenant-Governor  proposed  articles 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

of  impeachment,  llie  councillors  objecting  to  take  i)art  in  this 
measure,  Blackwell  adjourned  that  meeting.  But  when  they  next 
met,  Lloyd  very  coolly  entered  the  room,  saying  that  he  had 
come  to  take  his  place.  The  Governor  said  there  was  nothing 
expected  of  him  until  he  answered  the  charges.  Lloyd  replied 
that  he  had  as  good  a  right  to  sit  there  as  the  Governor  had  to  be 
Governor.  As  he  refused  to  withdraw,  Blackwell  adjourned  to 
his  own  lodgings,  ordering  the  members  to  follow  him.  Some 
staid  to  fight  it  out  w'ith  Lloyd;  but  such  were  the  "sharp  and 
unsavory  expressions"  used  by  the  latter  that  ^Markham,  the 
secretary,  induced  the  Governor  to  return.  Lloyd  was  again 
commanded  to  depart,  and  the  other  members  followed  Black- 
well.     A  similar  scene  was  enacted  at  a  subsequent  meeting. 

Blackwell  was  continuously  opposed  by  the  most  important 
Quakers,  to  the  chagrin  of  AMlliam  Penn,  who  had  thought  that 
the  high  character  of  Blackwell  would  make  his  government  sat- 
isfactory to  Friends,  while  his  not  being  of  that  sect  would  leave 
him  free  to  obey  the  Crow^n.  Penn  wrote  to  Blackwell  on  7  mo. 
25,  1689  :  'T  would  be  as  little  vigorous  as  possible;  and  do  desire 
thee,  by  all  the  obligation  I  and  my  present  circumstances  can 
have  upon  thee  to  desist  ye  prosecution  of  T.  L.  I  entirely  know 
ye  person  both  in  his  weakness  and  accomplishment,  and  would 
thee  end  ye  dispute  between  you  two  upon  my  single  request  and 
command  and  that  former  inconveniences  be  rather  mended  than 
punished.  Salute  me  to  ye  people  in  generall,  pray  send  for  J. 
Simcock,  A.  Cook,  John  Eckley.  and  Samuel  Carpenter,  and  let 
them  dispose  T.  L.  and  Sa.  Richardson  to  that  complying  temper 
that  may  tend  to  that  loving  and  serious  accord  yt  becomes  such 
a  government." 

In  November.  1689,  Blackwell  received  a  letter  from  the  Earl 
of  Shrewsbury,  dated  April  13,  announcing  that  war  with  France 
was  expected,  and  directing  that  care  be  taken  for  opposing  any 
attempt  upon  Pennsylvania.  On  this  being  read  to  the  councillors, 
half  (jf  whom  were  Quakers.  Simcock  said,  'T  see  no  danger  but 


The  English   Settlement 

from  bears  and  wolves.  We  are  well  and  in  peace  and  quiet. 
Let  us  keep  ourselves  so.  I  know  not  but  a  peaceable  spirit,  and 
that  will  do  well.  For  my  part,  I  am  against  it  clearly,  and  Gov- 
ernor, if  we  refuse  to  do  it,  thou  wilt  be  excused."  (iriffith  Jones 
asked  that  they  wait  a  little  longer,  for  the  country  would  not  be 
able  to  bear  such  a  charge  without  necessity,  and  added,  "Every 
one  that  will  may  provide  his  arms.  My  opinion  is  that  it  be  left 
to  the  discretion  of  the  Governor  to  do  what  he  shall  judge  neces- 
sary." Samuel  Carpenter  was  not  against  those  who  put  them- 
selves in  readiness  for  defense,  but  as  it  was  against  his  judgment 
he  could  not  advise  it.  The  King  of  England  knew  the  judg- 
ment of  Quakers  in  such  a  case  when  he  granted  Penn  his  patent. 
Quakers  would  rather  suffer  than  do  this  thing;  in  which  latter 
statement  Bartholomew  Coppock  agreed.  At  the  next  meeting. 
Simcock.  Coppock,  Carpenter.  Jones,  and  John  Bristow  declared 
that  they  could  not  vote  on  the  question  at  all.  They  did  not 
take  it  upon  themselves  to  hinder  others.  They  did  not  think  the 
Governor  need  call  them  together  in  the  matter.  So  Blackwell 
declared  that  he  would  do  what  was  his  dut\-.  without  further 
pressing  them. 

In  response  to  letters  from  both  Blackwell  and  his  enemies. 
Penn  relieved  him  of  the  government,  and,  that  the  councillors 
should  have  no  occasion  for  grumbling,  submitted  to  their  choice 
two  commissions  duly  signeil,  one  authorizing  the  whole  body 
to  act  as  Blackwell's  successor,  they  choosing  a  president,  and  the 
<ither  permitting  them  to  name  three  persons  in  the  province  or 
lower  counties,  from  whom  Penn  would  choose  one  as  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  and  until  his  mind  should  be  known  the  one  hav- 
ing the  most  votes  or  being  first  chosen  should  act  as  such. 
On  II  mo.  2.  1689-90.  the  Council  unanimously  accepted  the  com- 
mission appointing  the  whole  body  as  Penn's  deputy,  and  electeil 
Thomas  Lloyd  President.  Under  Lloyd's  presidency,  the  lower 
counties  became  discontented.  After  long  complaint  fif  the  delay 
of  justice,  six  of  their  councillors,  in  November,  1690,  undertook 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

to  appoint  new  judges ;  an  act  which  the  Council  at  large  repudiat- 
ed, promising  however  to  appoint  others,  of  whom  a  Delaw-are 
man  should  he  president  in  Delaware.  On  t  mo.  30,  1691,  there 
were  suhmittcd  for  the  Council's  choice  two  new  commissions, 
one  for  the  Cnuncil  to  name  three  persons  from  w^hom  Penn 
would  appoint  a  Lieutenant-Governor,  the  person  having  most 
votes  to  act  until  Penn's  pleasure  should  be  known,  the  other  for 
Lloyd,  Markham.  Turner.  Jennings,  and  John  Cann,  or  any  three 
of  them,  to  exercise  a  lieutenant-governor's  powers,  and  if  neither 
commission  were  accepted,  the  government  to  remain  in  the  whole 
Council.  The  councillors  from  Philadelphia,  Bucks  and  Chester 
were  unanimous  for  a  single  executive,  but  those  from  Delaware, 
seeing  that  Lloyd  would  be  chosen,  declared  against  it.  Ten 
members  being  present,  Lloyd  in  the  chair,  Growdon  called  out, 
"You  that  is  for  Thomas  Lloyd,  Arthur  Cook  and  John  Goodson 
to  be  nominated  Deputy-Governor  stand  up  and  say  yea."  Where- 
upon the  Delawareans,  protesting  that  the  charter  required  two- 
thirds  as  a  ([uorum  and  a  two-thirds  vote  in  "affairs  of  moment," 
left  the  meeting.  Three  days  later,  six  of  them,  claiming  that 
the  government  was  still  in  the  Council,  met  at  New^  Castle,  and 
chose  Cann  president.  Lloyd,  made  Lieutenant-Governor  until 
Penn's  appointment  should  be  known,  accepted  at  the  importunity 
of  friends,  and  tried  to  win  back  the  Delawareans,  but  in  vain. 
Penn  was  grieved  at  his  acting  upon  this  "broken  choice,"  and 
urged  a  reunion,  but  finally  commissioned  Lloyd  as  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Markham  as  Lieutenant-Governor 
of  the  Lower  Counties.  This  arrangement  lasted  until  the  ar- 
rival of  Governor  Fletcher. 

The  first  charter  to  the  city  of  Philadelphia  was  granted  on 
3rd  mo.  20.  1 69 1.  Humphrey  Morrey  being  named  as  Mayor, 
John  Delavall  as  Recorder,  and  David  Lloyd  as  Town  Clerk. 

It  was  during  Lloyd's  administration  that  George  Keith 
caused  a  schism  in  the  Society  of  Friends,  resulting  in  the  growth 
of  the  Baptist  denomination  and  the  estal)lishment  of  most  of  the 

316 


BIBLIA, 

SM  ifl: 


3?a*  Hv  ©eutf^cit  Ue6etfe|tm3 

^.  liartiii  it 


lit   jeW    fi;apitf(^    fatten    (Simmamtr   m^ 

SCebfl  emettt  mham 


<>..^^.^j^ 


■-'*«'>>^'^>' 


■■^J^^^^^^t^^i^'J^tfi' 


icrinantoiDn: 

©rtriKft  ko  ^&riftpp^  iiaur/  1743. 


lillc  page  Saiir  Bible 


The   first   Bible   printed   in   America   in   a    Euro- 
pean language 


The  Englisii   Settlement 

oldest  Episcopal  churches  in  the  Middle  States.  Keith  finally 
taking  orders  in  the  Church  of  England.  He  had  studied  at 
Aherdeen,  and  had  heen  one  of  the  great  champions  of  the  Society, 
had  appeared  at  several  disputations,  and  written  many  lx)oks  in 
support  of  its  tenets,  travelled  with  Penn  and  Barclay  on  the 
Continent  in  its  service,  and  suffered  long  imprisonment  and 
much  ])ecuniary  loss  in  its  cause.  He  came  to  America  emhit- 
tered  hv  i)ersecuti(»n,  and  practiced  in  controversy,  was  some  time 
Survevor-Cleneral  of  East  Jersey,  and  for  a  year  taught  the 
iM-iends'  Schrxil  in  Philadelphia,  hut  rclin(|uished  such  occupation 
to  travel  toother  colonies  to  preach  and  to  challenge  the  opponents 
of  Quakerism.  He  justly  deemed  himself  the  greatest  man  in 
the  Society  in  America.  He  contended  for  greater  plainness  of 
dress,  objected  to  Quakers  acting  as  magistrates  giving  sentence 
for  corporal  punishment,  proposed  rules  of  discipline  and  gov- 
ernment, and  importuned  for  a  confession  of  faith.  A  theologian 
inferior  only  to  Barclay  of  all  whom  the  Society  had  produced, 
he  was  quick  to  detect  the  erroneous  doctrine  in  the  loose  preach- 
ing of  those  around  him,  and  he  attacked  the  preachers  in  the 
strongest  words.  He  accused  Fitzwater  and  Stockdale  before  the 
Meeting  for  having  declared  that  ''the  light  of  Christ  was  sufficient 
for  salvation  without  anything  else,"  thereby  inferring  that 
there  was  no  need  of  the  coming  of  Christ.  The  Meeting,  which 
could  not  refuse  to  censure  Stockdale.  blamed  Keith  for  violating 
Gospel  order  in  not  first  communicating  with  Stockdale,  and  for 
his  rancorous  expressions.  Stockdale  and  Fitzwater  brought 
charges  of  bad  doctrine  against  Keith,  and  Bowden,  in  his  His- 
tory of  Friends  in  America,  says  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  had 
departed  from  the  views  of  the  Quakers  on  the  efficacy  and  uni- 
versality of  Divine  grace.  Keith's  friends,  remaining  at  a 
monthly  meeting  after  the  clerk  had  left,  adjourned  to  the  school- 
house,  and  there,  mustering  a  great  force,  condemned  his  accus- 
ers, and  suspended  them  from  the  ministry.  The  Quarterly 
Meeting  set  aside  these  proceedings.     Keith,  unable  to  carry  his 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

proposals  as  to  the  lime  of  meetings  for  worship,  at  last  started 
a  separate  meeting,  the  attendants  on  which  assumed  the  name  of 
Christian  Quakers.  In  the  severest  language  he  denounced  his 
former  comrades,  who,  he  said,  came  together  "to  cloak  heresies 
and  deceit.''  Keith  declared  that  Lloyd  was  not  fit  to  he  Governor, 
and  "his  name  would  stink,"  and  Keith  told  the  Quarterly 
Meeting  of  Ministers  in  ist  mo.,  1692,  that  there  w'ere  "more 
damnable  heresies  and  doctrines  of  devils  among  the  Quakers 
than  among  any  profession  of  Protestants."  At  the  next  Quar- 
terly Meeting,  a  declaration  of  disunity  with  him  w'as  issued, 
headed  by  Lloyd's  signature ;  and  for  his  slanderous  words 
against  Lloyd  and  Samuel  Jennings,  one  of  the  justices,  he  was 
tried  before  the  county  court  at  Philadelphia,  and  fined,  and 
Bradford,  the  printer,  who  was  publishing  his  address  to  the 
Quakers,  was  deprived  of  his  tools,  and  thrown  into  prison,  as 
were  John  Macomb,  who  circulated  it,  and  Thomas  Budd,  who 
wrote  a  pamphlet  on  Keith's  side.  The  Quakers  alleged,  and 
perhaps  justly,  that  the  pamphlets  tended  to  sedition,  but  these 
proceedings  were  the  grounds  of  a  charge  that  the  Quakers,  as 
well  as  other  religious  bodies,  could  persecute,  as  though  this 
mild  correction  for  intemperate  language  w^as  to  be  classified  with 
the  fires  of  Smithfield,  or  the  lashings  on  the  Quakers'  backs — 
and  putting  three  Quakers  to  death — in  New  England. 

It  was  for  only  about  a  dozen  years  in  the  history  of  Penn- 
sylvania prior  to  1790  that  there  were  an  upper  and  lower  house 
participating  in  legislation.  Under  the  frame  of  government 
dated  April  25,  1682,  and  that  of  the  next  year,  which  was  carried 
out  until  the  time  of  Fletcher,  the  Provincial  Council  proposed  all 
laws,  and  the  Assembly  in  a  few  days'  session  accepted  or  rejected 
tliem.  It  may  be  interesting  to  know  the  names  of  some  of  those 
early  legislators  whom  their  neighbors  chose  to  represent  them 
in  either  the  Council  or  Assembly.  William  Markham  was  the 
first  cousin  of  William  Penn,  being  son  of  x\dmiral  Penn's  sister. 
The  name  is  found  at  an  early  period  among  the  gentry  of  old 

320 


■aZViOWV  'a.'XTX'A    <A\\V-<;\ 


^Ifis'l  noaUi'/f  aahsri  J  <d  snilnisq  »dJ  moil  IfifinaeoH  JistllA  (d  sJiow  eiriJ  lol  btdoiSl 

eirfqbbfitirf'I  .IleH  ssn^bniqsbnl  nf 


wkm^'^ 


^fcj^-j^** 


/; .-/  VIl)   RITTE  NH  OUSE 


Etched  for  this  work  by  Albert  Rosenthal  from  the  painting  by  Charles  Willson  I'eale 
In  Independence  Hall,  Philadelphia 


The   Encrlish   Settlement 

England,  or  that  class  which  in  Continental  Europe  would  be 
■  called  the  lesser  ncjljility.  There  was  a  Sir  John  Markham,  Judge 
of  the  Common  Pleas  from  1396  to  1407,  from  whom  two  fam- 
ilies descended,  l)oth  seated  in  Nottinghamshire,  Ijearing  the  same 
arms,  which  also  the  William  ^larkham  who  came  to  Pennsyl- 


Old   Franklin   Press 

Photographed  especially  for  this  work  by  J.  V. 
Sachse  from  the  original  in  possession  of  the 
Historical   Society  of  Pennsylvania 

vania  used  as  a  seal  impaled  with  the  arms  of  Thomas  of  Dublin. 
He  is  (lescril>ed  as  "Captain  Markham"  at  the  time  when  Penn 
intrusted  him  with  tlie  inauguration  of  a  go\erninent  (»\er  his 
newly  acquired  territories.  It  is  a  mere  conjecture,  but  we  hazard 
it,  that  he  was  son  i<\  the  Henry  ^^larkham  who  was  colonel  in 
Ireland  in  Cromwell's  lime,  during  which  Admiral  Penn  received 
lands  there.      William   Markham  died  poor  in    1704.  and   sixty 

I— 21  221 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

years  later  his  granddaughter  was  receiving  a  pension  from  the 
Proprietaries. 

Christopher  Taylor  is  said  to  have  been  a  Puritan  minister 
prior  to  conversion  by  George  Fox,  and  was  a  schoolmaster  in 
England,  and  the  author  of  a  compendium  of  Latin,  Greek,  and 
Hebrew,  published  in  1679.  Thomas  Holme,  who  succeeded 
Captain  William  Crispin  as  Surveyor-General  of  the  province, 
and  in  a  few  years  published  a  map  of  all  the  lots,  bore  the  title  of 
captain  as  no  mere  compliment  or  local  rank,  for  he  was  such  in 
the  army  of  Oliver  Cromwell.  Holme  became  a  member  of  the 
Society  of  Friends  in  1659,  and  in  April,  1682,  was  a  resident  of 
the  city  of  Waterford,  Ireland.  One  of  his  daughters  married  in 
1683  Captain  Crispin's  son  Silas,  who  in  some  way,  probably 
maternally,  was  a  cousin  of  William  Penn.  John  Simcock,  of 
humbler  antecedents,  was  called  by  the  Quakers  "a  nursing  father 
in  Israel."  The  career  in  Pennsylvania  of  Ralph  Withers, 
Francis  Whitwell;  John  Songhurst,  and  William  Stockdale,  min- 
isters among  Friends,  was  cut  short  by  early  death.  William 
Biles  will  appear  later  in  these  pages.  His  son  William  married 
the  daughter  of  Thomas  Langhorne,  assemblyman,  who  had  been 
a  preacher  in  England.  Langhorne's  son  became  Chief  Justice 
of  the  province.  James  Harrison,  a  shoemaker,  who  had  trav- 
elled much  as  a  preacher,  acted  as  Penn's  steward  at  the  manor 
which  was  surveyed  for  the  Proprietary  in  Bucks  county,  and 
called  Pennsbury.  Harrison's  son-in-law,  Phineas  Pemberton, 
a  grocer  from  Lancashire,  was  one  of  the  most  important  office- 
holders in  the  province.  The  ancestor  of  the  Confederate  general 
who  surrendered  to  Grant  at  Vicksbiu'g,  he  is  to  be  classed  as  one 
of  the  patriarchs  from  whom  the  more  important  people  of  Phila- 
delphia have  descended.  His  son  Israel,  a  merchant,  sat  in  the 
Assembly,  and  a  second  Israel,  called  ''junior''  prior  to  1754,  was 
sometimes  called  "King  of  the  Quakers,"  while  his  brother  James 
was  one  of  the  Quaker  assemblymen  who  could  not  be  brought 
to  vote  for  military  measures.     William  Yardley  was  Phineas 

322 


The   English   Settlement 

Pemberton's  uncle.  He  and  Thomas  Janney  left  large  families, 
the  latter's  name  being  widely  spread  also  in  Virginia.  Thomas 
Wynne  was  a  Welsh  surgeon,  also  preacher  and  writer;  his  name 
still  survives,  while  his  daughter,  who  married  Edward  Jones, 
another  Welsh  physician,  was  grandiuothcr  of  Thomas  Cad- 
walader,  whom  we-shall  note  as  a  councillor  lo  later  Lieutenant- 
Governors,  and  great-grandmother  of  John  Dickinson,  who  be- 
came head  of  the  government  of  the  State.  Jnhn  Eckley,  an- 
other preacher,  dying  in  1690,  left  an  only  daughter,  who  ran  off 
from  the  Quakers,  and  was  married  over  in  New  Jersey  b\-  a 
Church  of  England  missionary  to  Colonel  Daniel  Coxe.  who  had 
large  proprietary  interests  in  that  province  and  was  son  of  the 
physician  to  Charles  II.,  who  was  at  one  time  patentee  of  Carolina. 
The  Coxes  of  Drifton,  Pa.,  are  descendants.  Samuel  Carpenter 
was  the  rich  man  of  the  early  day,  but  lost  considerable  property. 
One  of  his  grandsons  removed  to  Salem  county.  New  Jersey :  a 
granddaughter  was  ancestress  of  an  extensive  branch  of  the 
Wliarton  family  of  the  present  day,  including  Joseph  ^^'harton, 
William  Wharton,  Wharton  Barker,  and  Bromley  Wliarton,  pri- 
vate secretar}-  to  Governor  Pennypacker,  and  also  of  John  M. 
Scott,  now  President  pro  teni.  of  the  State  Senate ;  while  Samuel 
Richardson,  at  one  time  fellow  member  with  Carpenter  of  the 
Provincial  Council,  was  ancestor  of  Governor  Pennypacker. 
Robert  Turner  had  been  a  merchant  in  Dublin  :  one  of  his  daugh- 
ters married  Francis  Rawle,  who  was  an  important  man  at  an 
early  date.  James  Clayjioole  was  the  ancestor  of  the  present 
Cornelius  Vanderbilt  of  X'ew  York.  The  names  of  Newlin, 
Maris,  Pennock,  Levis,  Wain  and  Kirkbride  are  >et  extant  among 
us.  The  male  line  of  Caleb  Pusey,  a  preacher  and  a  writer  against 
George  Keith,  is  extinct.  Griffith  Owen,  another  preacher,  was 
a  Welsh  physician.  Joseph  Growdon,  when  of  Anstle  in  the 
county  of  Cornwall,  gentleman,  joined  his  father,  Lawrence 
Growdon,  of  Trevose  in  said  county,  gentleman,  as  one  of  the 
"first  purchasers,"  they  buying  from  \\"il1iam  Penn  liefore  his  first 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and  Federal 

visit  to  Pennsylvania  the  goudl}'  (juantity  of  5,000  acres  each. 
These  they  had  located  upon  the  Neshaniiny  Creek  in  Bucks 
county.  Joseph  (irowdon  came  to  America  very  soon  after  the 
purchase,  and  settled  upon  the  property,  building  a  dwelling-house 
still  standing-,  and  giving  it  the  name  of  "Trevose."  He  was 
several  terms  Speaker.  Of  his  children,  Joseph  became  Attorney- 
General  of  the  province;  Elizabeth  married  Francis  Richardson, 
her  descendants  being  found  to-day  in  Philadelphia;  Grace  mar- 
ried David  Lloyd;  and  Lawrence  became  a  member  of  the  Gov- 
ernor's council,  one  of  Lawrence's  daughters  marrying  in  1753 
the  prominent  politician,  Joseph  Galloway.  David  Lloyd  was  a 
cousin  of  Thomas  Lloyd.  Thomas  Lloyd  was  the  third  son  of 
Charles  Lloyd  of  Dolobran  by  his  wife  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Stanley  of  Knockin.  The  writer  of  these  lines  has  set 
forth  the  ancestry  in  "The  Provincial  Councillors  of  Pennsyl- 
vania;" it  will  contribute  to  an  understanding  of  our  colonial 
history  to  know  that  John  Delaval,  Richard  Hill  (w^ho  married 
Delaval's  widow),  Samuel  Preston,  and  Isaac  Norris  were  Lloyd's 
sons-in-law.  Isaac  Norris  and  William  Trent  in  1704  bought  a 
tract  belonging  to  William  Penn's  son  William,  and  on  this  was 
dulv  laid  out  the  town  of  Norristown. 


324 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  SUSPENSION    AND    RESTORATION  OF  PENX'S  GOVERN- 
MENT AND  HIS  SECOND  VISIT 


W 


Li  JAM  I'eiin  had  not  been  brought  up  a  business 
man,  but  a  knight's  sun,  to  be  courtier  and  soldier,  while 
bailiffs,  solicitors  and  agents  drew  up  his  papers  and 
handled  his  money.  He  had  sacrificed  the  husbanding  of  his 
patrimony  to  the  career  of  a  minister  among  Friends,  which,  in- 
volving trials  and  punishment,  traveling  and  putting  forth  books, 
engrossed  his  attention,  and  devoured  his  income  as  much  perhaps 
as  would  have  the  diversions  of  the  worldly.  In  the  great  land 
speculation  into  which  philanthropy  had  led  him,  the  Indians  were 
not  cheated  with  a  few  beads,  and  the  impost  which  the  colonists 
in  1683  offered  to  him  was  refused  ;  so  the  first  cost  was  very  heavy. 
He  undertook  when  the  Duke  of  York  became  King  of  England  to 
be  the  patron  at  Court  of  those  persecuted  on  account  of  religion. 
and  so  "overspent"  the  considerable  sum  of  £3000  in  that  reign. 
Then  came  the  war  in  Ireland,  and  other  causes  by  which  his 
estate,  called  Shanagarry,  near  Cork,  was  unproducti\e.  In  1705 
he  estimated  that  on  an  average  in  the  fifteen  years  between  his 
first  and  second  visits  to  Pennsylvania  he  had  spent  £400  annually 
in  London  "to  hinder  much  mischief  against  us  if  not  to  do  us 
much  good." 

Indebtedness  from  residence  in  London  was  not  the  only  bad 
result  of  intimacy  with  James  11.  Penn  was  long  .suspected  of 
being  a  Papist,  and  even  called  a  Jesuit:  and  after  the  Revolution 

325 


Pennsylvania   Colonial  and   Federal 

of  1688  was  several  times  accused  of  connection  with  plots  to 
restore  James  to  the  throne.  Although  escaping  conviction  of  any 
actual  treason  to  William  and  Mary,  Penn  was  deprived  of  the  gov- 
ernorship of  Pennsylvania  and  the  counties  on  the  Delaware  on 
the  ground  of  his  administration  of  it  being  a  failure,  and  as  a 
matter  of  prudence  at  a  time  when  there  was  war  with  France. 
Some  lawyers  were  of  the  opinion  that  the  powers  of  government 
granted  to  William  Penn  were  part  of  the  regalia  of  the  Crown, 
which  Charles  II  could  not  alienate  for  longer  than  his  own  life. 
But  without  any  judicial  decision  or  even  the  bringing  of  a  writ  of 
quo  zvarranto,  the  region  was  committed  to  the  care  of  Benjamin 
Fletcher,  esq.,  as  Captain-General  and  Governor-in-Chief,  he  hold- 
ing the  same  position  in  the  province  of  New  York  and  its  de- 
pendencies. He  was  thus  made  responsible  for  the  defense  of  a 
settlement  of  which  the  inhabitants  were  conscientiously  opposed 
to  war,  and  which  a  force  of  500  men  could  capture  in  the  unpre- 
pared condition  in  which  he  found  it.  He  tried  to  be  considerate 
of  the  Quakers,  and  was  careful  of  the  property  rights  of  the 
Proprietary,  while  laboring  to  organize  and  secure  appropriations 
for  a  militia.  His  commission,  dated  October  21,  1692,  under 
which  he  did  not  take  .possession  until  April  26,  1693,  required 
him  to  appoint  a  Lieutenant-Governor  and  a  Council,  and  to  exe- 
cute such  reasonable  laws  as  were  then  in  force  or  thereafter  agreed 
upon  by  him  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Council  and  As- 
sembly. He  offered  the  first  place  in  the  Council  to  Lloyd,  who 
declined  it.  Then  he  conferred  it  upon  Markham,  whom,  on 
April  27,  with  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  other  councillors,  he 
appointed  Lieutenant-Governor.  On  a  question  of  the  validity  of 
the  former  laws,  Fletcher  confirmed  most  of  them,  with  some 
amendments  to  make  them  conform  more  to  the  laws  of  England, 
until  the  royal  pleasure  should  be  known.  When  the  Assembly 
would  not  set  back  the  wheels  of  progress  by  making  burglary 
punishable  with  death,  he  yielded.  He  was  willing  to  fix  a  salary 
of  six  shillings  a  day  for  each  member  and  nine  shillings  for  the 

326 


Suspension  and   Restoration  of  Government 

Speaker;  but  the  councillors,  unable  to  obtain  a  salary  for  them- 
selves or  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  unanimously  rejected  the  bill. 
The  Assembly  granted  in  1693  a  tax  of  id.  per  pound  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  government,  and  the  next  year  would  have  done  the 
same  in  reply  to  his  promise  that,  in  consideration  of  their  scruples, 
the  money  "should  not  be  dipped  in  blood,"  but  should  "feed  the 
hungry  and  clothe  the  naked"  Indians,  unable  to  hunt  because 
fighting  for  the  English,  but  Fletcher  would  not  ccjnsent  to  the 
formal  appropriation  of  part  of  the  prcKeeds  to  Lloyd  and  ]^Iark- 
ham.     Lloyd  died  Sept.   10,   1694. 

Penn,  on  December  4,  1692,  wrote  to  his  friends  in  Pennsyl- 
vania to  get  one  hundred  persons  there  to  lend  him  £100  each  for 
three  years,  without  interest,  in  which  case  he  would  in  six 
months  come  over  with  all  his  family.  The  amount  was 
not  raised.  Nevertheless  Penn,  at  the  beginning  of  August, 
1694,  attended  the  committee  of  the  Privy  Council  for  trade  and 
plantations,  and  promised  that  if  restored  to  the  government,  he 
would  with  all  convenient  speed  go  to  Pennsylvania,  and  w^ould 
transmit  to  the  Council  and  Assembly  Queen  Mary's  orders,  which, 
he  declared,  he  did  not  doubt  would  be  complied  w'ith,  as  well  as 
at  all  times  such  orders  as  their  Majesties  might  give  for  sup- 
plying a  quota  of  men,  or  defraying  the  share  of  the  expense 
their  Majesties  should  think  necessary  for  the  safety  of  the  do- 
minions in  America ;  furthermore,  he  would  appoint  ^Larkham  as 
his  deputy;  and  if  the  government  of  Pennsylvania  should  not 
comply  with  the  royal  orders,  Penn  would  submit  tlie  direction 
of  the  military  to  their  Majesties'  pleasure;  and  the  laws  passed 
by  the  Assembly  in  ^Lay,  1693,  not  yet  confirmed  or  rejected  by 
her  Majesty,  should  be  executed  until  altered  by  the  Assembly. 
The  Attorney-Cieneral  and  Solicitor-General  gave  an  opinion  that 
the  government  granted  to  Penn,  being  subject  to  their  Majesties' 
sovereignty,  their  Majesties  could  appoint  a  governor  in  extraor- 
dinary exigencies  through  the  default  or  neglect  of  Penn  or  those 
appointed  b}-  him  in  protecting  or  defending  the  province  or  in- 

3^7 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

habitants  in  time  of  dang"er.  l)ut  the  right  of  government  l)elonged 
to  him  when  those  reasons  failed  or  ceased.  The  committee  rec- 
ommended the  restoration  of  the  government,  with  directions  that 
on  apphcation  of  the  Governor  or  commander-in-chief  of  New 
York,  a  qnota  not  exceeding  80  men  or  the  vahie  of  the  charge 
thereof  be  sent  from  Pennsylvania  to  New  York.  Accordingly, 
William  and  Mary,  by  letters  patent  dated  Angnst  20,  1694,  re- 
ceived in  Pennsylvania  the  following  ]\Iarch,  annonnced  that  they 
had  thonght  fit  to  restore  the  administration  of  the  government 
to  Penn,  and  that  the  authority  of  Fletcher  should  cease.  The 
next  day  the  Queen  signed  a  letter  commanding  the  Proprietary 
at  all  times  on  request  of  the  governor  and  commander-in-chief 
of  New  York  to  send  80  men  with  their  officers  or  the  expense 
of  maintaining  the  same  for  the  defense  of  the  latter  province, 
and  that  the  Proprietary  give  directions  for  making  provision  for 
the  same  at  the  public  charge  of  the  province  of  Pennsylvania  and 
country  of  New  Castle. 

Not  yet  able  to  return  to  America,  Penn  on  9  mo.  24,  1694, 
commissioned  Markham  as  Lieutenant-Governor,  with  the  advice 
and  consent  of  John  Goodson  and  Samuel  Carpenter  as  iVssistants, 
or  either  of  them.  The  commissions  read  "to  govern  according 
to  the  known  laws  and  usages,"  and  Markham  proceeded  under 
the  frame  of  government  of  1683,  causing  a  Provincial  Council  to 
be  elected.  Fletcher,  still  commander-in-chief  at  New  York,  on 
April  15,  1695,  made  application  for  the  eighty  men  and  a  cap- 
tain, two  lieutenants,  etc.,  to  be  at  Albany  as  soon  as  possible  after 
May  I,  and  renewed  the  application  in  June,  asking  that  they 
be  at  Albany  as  soon  as  possible  after  August  i ;  but  the  council- 
lors, on  account  of  harvest,  would  not  allow  the  Assembly  to  be 
convened  before  September  9;  and  to  Markham's  question: 
"Would  you  be  willing  that  if  an  enemy  should  assault  us  I 
should  defend  you  by  force  of  arms?"  some  answered  that  they 
would ;  others,  that  they  must  leave  every  one  to  his  own  liberty, 
and  that  Governor  Penn's  instructions  must  be  followed,  and  it 

328 


Specimen  "i  Iqtlirala  Cloister  Pen  Work,   1747 

From  the  collection  of  T.  F.   Sachse 


Suspension   and   Restoration  of  Government 

being  his  business  they  had  nothing  to  do  with  it.  By  the  time 
the  Assemljly  met.  choosing  Edward  Shippen  as  Speaker,  it  had 
come  to  be  the  opinion  of  the  members  of  both  that  body  and  the 
Council  that  the  frame  of  government  was  no  longer  in  force,  and 
so.  after  recalling  Fletcher's  promise  when  Governor  of  Pennsyl- 
vania that  the  money  voted  to  him  for  support  of  government 
should  be  applied  to  providing  for  the  Indians,  and  declaring  that 
what  they  might  now  vote  for  the  King  to  be  used  as  he  pleased, 
should  be  deemed  a  compliance  with  the  letter  of  the  Queen  as 
far  as  conscience  and  ability  permitted,  the  Council  and  Assembly 
tacked  an  act  of  settlement  establishing  a  charter  to  an  act  appro- 
priating 250/.  for  the  support  of  the  King's  government;  but 
]\Iarkham  did  not  feel  that  he  could  so  bind  the  Proprietary,  and, 
despairing  of  obtaining  satisfaction  of  the  military  demands, 
exercised  the  prerogative  which  the  denial  of  the  validity  of  the 
old  frame  left  him,  and  dissolved  both  Council  and  Assembly. 
Fletcher  in  lamentation  wrote  in  June.  1696:  "The  town  of 
Philadelphia  in  fourteen  years'  time  is  become  near  equal  to  the 
city  of  New  York  in  trade  and  riches."  and  explained  that  the 
hardships  of  defending  his  province  had  driven  many  of  the 
people  to  Philadelphia  to  enjoy  their  ease,  and,  there  being  no 
duty  on  trade  in  Pennsylvania,  the  trade  of  his  province  had  been 
drawn  thither.  Markham,  some  of  whose  letters  to  Penn  were 
captured  by  the  French,  and  others,  delayed  by  the  roundabout 
voyages,  was  without  instructions  as  to  a  Council. 

MeanW'hile  Penn,  fifty-one  years  of  age,  was  taking  a  step  for 
which  mankind  does  not  blame  him,  but  which  lowered  the  pros- 
pects in  life  of  his  three  children  then  living,  carried  him  into 
greater  expenditure  and  deeper  embarrassment,  dragged  his 
friends  and  taxpayers  into  the  hardship  of  assisting  him,  and 
finally  placed  Pennsylvania  under  a  new  family  with  no  other 
wealth  than  what  could  be  gotten  out  of  it — his  second  marriage 
I  mo.  5.  1695-6.  His  children  then  living  were  Springett,  the 
eldest.  William,  and  Letitia.     His  eldest  son  died  a  month  after 


Pennsylvania  Coh^iial  and  Federal 

this  without  issue.  The  second  son,  two  years  later,  married  at 
the  age  of  nineteen.  Of  the  object  of  young  William's  "im- 
petuous inclination,"  his  father  writes  in  1707:  "I  wish  she  had 
brought  more  wisdom  since  she  brought  so  little  money  to  help 
the  family."  The  young  man,  by  1703,  when  he  came  to  Penn- 
sylvania, jealous  of  his  step-mother  and  her  children,  and  emanci- 
pated from  his  father,  had  raised  his  own  set  of  creditors.  The 
marriage  portion  of  his  sister,  who  became  the  wife  of  William 
Aubrey,  was  with  difficulty  raised.  A  note  to  the  Penn  and 
Logan  Correspondence,  published  by  the  Historical  Society  of 
Pennsylvania,  has  passed  an  eulogium  on  Penn's  second  wife, 
Hannah,  daughter  of  Thomas  Callowhill,  a  worthy  Quaker,  dealer 
in  groceries  in  Bristol ;  and  it  would  be  an  ungracious  task 
to  contradict  it,  if  we  could.  Suffice  it  to  say,  she  was  not  satis- 
fied to  live  in  Pennsylvania,  and  inasmuch  as  she  was  of  less 
social  position  than  his  first  wife,  Gulielma  Maria,  daughter  of 
Sir  William  Springett,  and  had  no  influential  connections  to 
strengthen  her  husband  in  England,  we  may  hazard  the  remark 
that  a  Pennsylvania  girl  would  have  been  better  for  the  lord  of 
Pennsylvania ;  such  a  choice  and  remaining  here  would  have  had 
one  worldly  advantage — that  of  popularizing  him. 

On  September  25,  1696,  Markham  appointed  a  Council  for 
himself,  and  on  October  26,  John  Goodson  resigned  as  Assistant, 
and  Arthur  Cook  presented  commissions  from  the  Proprietary, 
which  Cook  had  kept  secret  for  eighteen  months,  authorizing 
Markham  to  act  according  to  law  and  charter  with  Samuel  Jen- 
nings and  Arthur  Cook  as  Assistants.  An  Assembly  was  summoned 
and  chose  John  Simcock  Speaker,  and  passed  five  acts  to  wdiich 
Markham  consented  on  November  7,  of  which  the  last  three  were 
respectively  how  to  raise  county  levies,  for  preventing  of  hogs, 
etc.,  running  at  large  in  the  town  of  Chester,  and  for  preventing 
accidents  by  fire  in  the  towns  of  Philadelphia  and  New  Castle. 
The  first  of  the  acts  was  a  frame  of  government  providing  among 
other  things  for  a  Council  of  two  members  elected  from  each  of 


Suspension   and   Restoration   of  Government 

the  six  counties,  and  an  Assembly  of  four  elected  from  each  coun-" 
tv,  the  right  of  electing  or  being  elected  being  cunhned  to  free 
denizens  over  twenty-one  years  old.  having  fifty  acres  of  land, 
ten  being  seated  and  cleared,  or  having  50/.  clear  estate,  and  resi- 
dent within  the  government  two  years  before  the  election ;  any 
voter  receiving  a  reward  or  gift  for  his  vote  should  forfeit  the  right 
to  vote  that  year,  and  any  person  giving  or  promising  the  same. 


Early  specimens  of  Wood  Cuts  made  at  Ephrata  Commiinit\- 

From  the   Danner  collection 

in  order  to  be  elected,  or  offering  to  serve  for  nothing  or  for  less 
wages  than  allowed  by  law,  should  be  incapable  of  serving  that 
year ;  the  real  estate  of  an  alien  dying  before  denizenation  should 
pass  as  if  he  had  been  denizenised ;  the  inhabitants  should  have 
liberty  to  fish  and  hunt  upon  their  lands  or  any  lands  not  enclosed. 
The  act  was  to  be  in  force  until  the  Proprietary  should  signify  his 
pleasure  to  the  contrary,  but  nothing  in  the  act  was  to  preclude 
the  inhabitants  from  any  rights,  privileges  or  immunities  under 
the  old  frame  of  1683  or  belonging  to  them  by  virtue  of  any  law, 
charter,  or  grants  whatsoever.  By  the  second  act,  i(/.  per  pound, 
etc.,  tax  was  levied,  which  raised  300/.  Pennsylvania  money  for 

333 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

Fletcher,  who  sent  his  thanks,  but  explained  that  what  he  had 
asked  was  the  equivalent  of  2,000/. 

In  December,  Penn  suggested  to  the  Lords  of  Trade  that  the 
best  way  to  regulate  the  quota  wrjuld  be  by  two  deputies  from 
each  province  meeting  in  a  common  assembly  once  a  year  or 
oftener  during  the  war,  and  at  least  once  in  two  }"ears  in  times  of 
peace,  the  Governor  of  New  York  presiding  as  the  King's  com- 
missioner, and  that  the  body  should  settle  complaints  between  the 
provinces,  and  the  King's  commissioner  should  be  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  quotas  against  the  common  enemy.  It  was  in  pur- 
suance of  this  idea  that  the  congress  at  Albany  was  held  in  1754, 
and  the  wisest  men  engaged  in  American  affairs  endeavored  for 
a  union  of  the  colonies  until  one  was  actually  effected  in  the 
Revolutionary  War. 

Philip  Ford,  the  agent  who  had  sold  to  the  first  purchasers, 
and  managed  other  of  Penn's  affairs,  claiming  a  balance  of  £10,- 
500,  Penn  in  March,  1696-7,  deeded  to  him  Pennsylvania  and  the 
Lower  Territories,  taking  in  return,  instead  of  a  defeasance  to 
prove  the  transaction  a  mortgage,  a  lease  dated  April  i,  1697,  ^^^' 
three  years  at  £630  rent.  The  purpose  of  this  was  to  enable  Ford 
to  escape  a  tax  on  personal  estate,  which  his  rights  really  were. 

Markham's  administration  lasted  until  the  arrival  oi  \\'illiam 
Penn  the  second  time  in  America.  These  four  years  and  a  half 
were  the  great  day  of  piracy  on  the  American  coast,  the  time  of 
Captain  Kidd.  Much  of  the  trade  in  the  seaport  towns  was  in 
ill-gotten  goods,  and  the  cupidity  of  the  adventurers  who  held  the 
offices  for  the  execution  of  the  laws  bound  them  to  the  pirates. 
Markham's  son-in-law,  James  Brow-n,.  at  one  time  in  the  Assembly 
from  Kent,  was  a  pirate,  sent  to  England  in  1700,  and.  it  is  be- 
lieved, hung.  Most  of  the  governors  of  Xew  York  were  charged 
with  some  kind  of  malfeasance,  and  Benjamin  Fletcher,  it  was 
said,  licensed  vessels  sailing  from  New  York  with  piratical  de- 
signs. Edw.  Randolph,  Surveyor-General  of  Customs,  accused 
Markham  of  conniving  at  piracy,  and  wrote  that  certain  well 

334 


Suspension   and   Restoration  of  Government 

known  pirates  had  been  seen  in  Philadelphia,  and  that  Markham 
had  paid  no  attention  to  the  Lords*  proclamations,  had  neglected 
to  prosecute  forfeited  bonds,  and  had  adjourned  the  courts,  to  the 
benefit  of  fraudulent  debtors.  Some  months  later,  when  a  pirat- 
ical craft  had  come  into  Delaware  bay,  taking  nine  or  ten  ships, 
and  committed  several  robberies  on  the  people  of  Pennsylvania, 
Markham  applied  to  the  Earl  of  Bellomont  for  a  man-of-war  to 
guard  the  ba}-,  but  none  were  at  the  officer's  disposal.  Certain 
offenders  being  found  in  town,  and  pointed  out  to  Markham,  he 
made  several  arrests.  Although  the  province  contained  at  least 
7,000  men  capable  of  bearing  arms,  he  was  a  weak  governor  at 
such  times  for  want  of  a  militia. 

During  ]\Iarkhanvs  administration,  Robert  Quarry,  former- 
ly Governor  of  South  Carolina,  became  Judge  of  the  Admiralty  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  John  ]\Ioore,  who  was  a  lawyer,  the  advocate 
in  such  matters.  At  the  instigation  of  David  Lloyd,  who  had 
had  an  education  in  the  law,  Anthony  Morris,  an  early  mayor  of 
Philadelphia,  at  this  time  a  justice  of  the  county  court,  granted 
a  writ  of  replevin  by  which  certain  goods  seized  by  Ouarr}-'s 
order  were  taken  out  of  the  marshal's  hands,  and  the  owner,  by 
Lloyd  as  attorney,  prosecuted  the  marshal  for  the  detainer.  The 
marshal  in  justification,  produced  the  King's  letters  patent  with 
the  King's  effigy  stamped  at  its  head  and  the  wax  seal  depending 
in  a  tin  case.  Lloyd,  taking  the  commission  in  his  hand,  and 
exhibiting  it,  declaimed,  "What  is  this?  Do  you  think  to  scare 
us  with  a  great  box  and  a  little  baby.  'Tis  true,  fine  pictures 
please  children;  but  we  are  not  to  be  frightened  at  such  a  rate.'' 
Penn  was  obliged  by  Quarry's  reporting  the  replevin  to  the 
British  government  to  have  Morris  removed  from  his  judgeship, 
and  when,  in  1700,  Lloyd  was  elected  a  councillor,  Penn  sus- 
pended him  pending  trial  for  these  disrespectful  speeches  and  pos- 
tures. Perhaps  from  their  extortionate  practices,  the  customs 
officials  gave  Lloyd  good  reason  for  another  remark  with  which 
he  was  charged,   that  whoever  were  instrumental   or  aided   in 

335 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and  Federal 

erecting  or  encouraging-  a  coinl  of  admiralty  in  the  province  were 
greater  enemies  to  the  liberties  and  privileges  of  the  people  than 
those  who  promoted  ship  money  in  King  Charles  I's  time.  Crown 
officers  and  Churchmen,  Quarry  and  his  followers  were  on  guard 
against  citizens  and  Quakers.  Quarry  reported  the  shortcom- 
ings in  the  administration  not  only  of  Markham,  l)ut  of  Penn 


Thomas  Cadwalader 

Physician  ;  for  many  years  a  leader  in  the  work 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital 

and  the  deputies  following  him,  and  was  the  head  of  what 
Penn  called  the  "hot  Church  party,"  which  had  many  adherents 
in  the  Proprietary's  possessions  on  Delaware  bay.  In  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  all  the  struggles  as  to  arming  the  province  down  to  the 
Revolution,  the  laymen  of  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia,  in  the 
establishment  of  which  John  Moore  had  been  most  prominent, 
next  to  Joshua  Carpenter,  were  the  nucleus  of  the  political  party 
opposed  to  the  Society  of  Friends. 


Suspension   and   Restoration   of  Government 

^^'hen  aljont  to  come  a  second  time  to  Pennsylvania.  William 
Penn  secured  as  secretary  James  Logan  of  Bristol,  born  in  Ire- 
land of  a  good  Scotch  family,  who  had  taught  school,  but  was 
then  in  mercantile  business,  and  they,  with  Penn's  wife  and  her 
children,  sailed  from  Cowes  on  September  9th.  ^C^(jO.  in  the 
"Canterbury.''  On  the  way  over  a  ship  was  sighted  sujiposed  to 
be  an  enemv.  and  Logan  took  arms  for  defense,  while  Penn.  the 
stauncher  Quaker — ])erhaps  because  a  Quaker  by  conversion,  while 
Logan  was  only  a  Quaker  by  1)irth — retired  down  below.  The 
danger  passed,  after  which  Penn  expostulated  with  Logan  for  en- 
gaging in  battle.  Logan  replied  that  if  Penn  had  disapproved, 
Penn,  being  Logan's  master,  should  have  ordered  him  down. 
They  arrived  in  Philadelphia  in  December.  Penn  made  the  "slate- 
roof  house"  on  Second  street  his  residence,  and  Logan  lived  with 
liim.  The  country  seat  was  at  the  manor  of  Pennsbury  in  Bucks 
county. 

To  satisfy  the  British  government,  Penn  soon  summoned  an 
Assembly,  and  secured  a  law  against  piracy  and  a  law  against  ille- 
gal trade,  and  A\as  able  thus  to  express  himself,  "After  so  many 
calumnies  and  complaints  we  have  been  loaded  with.  I  hope  these 
two  laws  will  .in  some  degree  wash  us  clean."  An  effort  was 
made  to  give  Penn  a  tax  of  3(/.  per  /.,  but  it  was  voted  down. 
However,  an  impost  on  lif|uor.  yielding  between  500/.  and  1000/.. 
was  granted  to  him.  Disagreeing  to  Markham's  frame  of  gov- 
ernment passed  in  1696.  the  Proprietary  thought  the  old  frame  of 
1683  in  force  until  abrogated  as  provided  for  in  it.  Accordingly 
the  old  frame  was  surrendered  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the 
Council  and  Assembly  on  June  7.  1700,  and  it  was  unanimously 
agreed  that  all  laws,  including  those  passed  at  Chester  in  i<')83. 
and  the  petition  of  right,  and  those  just  made  at  this  session. 
should  be  in  force  only  until  twenty  days  after  the  adjournment 
of  the  next  session.  The  next  Assembly  Ijeing  opened  at  New 
Castle  in  October,  Penn  urged  the  importance  of  a  frame  of  gov- 
ernment and  new  set  of  laws,  a  statute  of  limitations  or  for  quiet- 

337 


Pennsyivania  Colonial   anei   Federal 

ing-  title  to  property,  and  a  supply  fur  the  support  of  go\ernnient. 
The  Assembly  levied  a  tax  to  raise  2000/.  for  him.  This  was  not 
paid  with  the  alacrity  with  which  it  was  granted.  It  was  claimed 
that  the  first  purchasers,  having  paid  cash  for  their  lands,  had 
agreed  to  pay  the  quit  rent  to  compensate  the  Proprietary  for  his 
expenses  in  the  government.  The  opinionated  religionists  who 
were  the  majority  of  the  colonists  seem  to  have  looked  upon  him 
as  a  Joshua  making  a  distribution  of  the  land ;  whereas  his  legal 
status  was  that  of  a  William  the  Conqueror  establishing  a  feudal 
system.  They  rather  thought  that  he  should  sell  to  new  pur- 
chasers at  the  old  price,  notwithstanding  the  rise  in  value.  They 
considered  the  unsold  land  between  Vine  and  South  streets  as  a 
common,  and  from  it  they  cut  their  wood.  Of  two  grievances 
they  felt  assured.  When  the  ten  per  cent,  of  the  first  purchases, 
instead  of  being  located  within  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  w^ere  sat- 
isfied by  land  in  the  Liberties,  lots  in  the  city  proper  were  given  in 
addition,  and  were  understood  to  be  a  free  gift,  whereas  they 
were  patented  subject  to  quit  rents.  When,  in  1701,  the  Assembly 
was  asked  to  suggest  a  suitable  expedient  for  the  people's  safety 
in  privileges  and  property,  the  reply  was,  a  charter  embracing 
twenty-one  favors,  of  which  the  eighth  was  to  make  the  inhab- 
itants easy  in  this  matter  of  the  city  lots.  Penn's  answer  was 
that  he  had  tied  them  to  nothing  which  the  first  purchasers  pres- 
ent in  the  allotment  of  the  city  had  not  seemed  readily  to  comply 
with,  and  by  a  replotting  their  lots  had  been  increased  to  a  double 
frontage;  if  they  would  surrender  the  increase,  he  would  be  easy 
as  to  the  quit  rents.  The  Assembly  asked  him  to  call  the  parties 
concerned ;  the  latter  were  never  either  convinced  or  relieved. 
The  other  grievance  was  as  to  the  land  taken  for  roads.  As  an 
allowance  for  this,  ten  per  cent,  was  added  to  the  quantity  of 
land  paid  for.  The  third  favor  asked  by  the  Assembly  was  that  for 
the  future  there  be  no  such  delays  as  in  the  past  in  the  granting 
of  patents  for  land,  and  the  10  per  cent,  be  allowed.  Penn  prom- 
ised his  endea\-or  to  prevent  such  delay  and  to  allow  the  ten  per 

338 


Suspension  and   Restoration  of  Government 

cent,  when  there  was  an  overplus,  but  only  t\v(^  i)er  cent,  on 
surveyed  lands  when  no  more  was  to  be  found.  However,  he 
finally  offered  six  per  cent.,  whether  so  much  had  been  included 
in  the  lines  of  the  survey  or  not,  and  on  this  compromise  the  as- 
semblymen were  brought  to  his  house  on  his  last  day  in  Philadel- 
phia half  an  hour  before  his  leaving  them,  and  shut  up  in  his 
parlor.     The}'  announced  an  acceptance  under  protest. 

At  the  suggestion  of  Penn.  the  Governor  of  New  York,  in 
making  peace  with  the  Five  Nations,  extended  it  to  the  other 
English  colonies;  and  on  April  23,  1701,  Penn  made  a  treaty  with 
the  king  of  the  Susquehanna  Minquas  or  Conestoga  Indians  and 
three  chiefs  of  the  same/and  with  the  king  of  the  Shawanees  and 
two  chiefs  of  the  same,  and  with  the  brother  and  agent  of  the 
emperor  of  the  Onondagas  of  the  Five  Nations  and  certain  chiefs 
of  the  Ganawese  (Conoys)  or  Piscataways,  then  dwelling  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  Potomac;  under  this  treaty  the  ])e(>ple  of  those 
tribes  while  living  near  Penn's  government  should  ha\c  the  i)rivi- 
leges  of  his  laws,  they  owning  the  authority  of  the  Crown  of  ling- 
land  and  of  said  government,  and  should  not  permit  any  strange 
Indians  to  settle  on  the  western  side  of  the  Susquehanna  or  on  the 
Potomac,  nor  any  other  Indians  anywhere  in  the  province  with- 
out the  Proprietary's  consent,  and  no  person  should  trade  with 
these  Indians  without  a  license  under  the  Proprietary's  hand  and 
seal,  but  the  Potomac  Indians  could  settle  on  any  part  of  the 
Potomac  river  "within  the  bounds  of  this  province."  ^Moreover, 
the  Conestoga  Indians  did  ratify  the  sale  which  had  been  con- 
firmed the  year  before  by  two  of  the  Conestoga  chiefs  of  lands 
about  the  Susquehanna,  and  guaranteed  the  good  behavior  of  the 
Potomac  Indians.  In  Evans's  time  the  Ganawese.  reduced  in 
number  by  sickness,  were  allowed  to  remove  to  Tulpehocken,  the 
Schuylkill  Indians  guaranteeing  their  good  behavior.  Penn  sub- 
mitted to  the  Assembly  in  August,  i/Oi,  a  royal  letter  asking  for 
£350  sterling  as  a  contribution  for  erecting  forts  on  the  frontier 
of  New  York,      l^ic  Assembly  replied  postponing  the  considera- 

339 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

tion  in  view  of  tlie  great  sums  of  money  lately  assessed  in  taxes 
and  the  arrears  of  quit  rents,  and  asking-  Penn  to  represent  the 
present  conditions  to  the  King,  and  assure  him  of  their  willing- 
ness to  acquiesce  in  his-  commands  as  far  as  their  religious  per- 
suasions would  peruiit.  Se\'en  memhers  from  the  Lower  Counties 
signed  an  address,  hoping  that  they  would  not  be  recjuired  to 
contribute  for  forts  abroad  before  they  were  able  to  build  any  at 
home,  they  not  being  able  to  furnish  themselves  with  arms  and 
ammunition,  "ha^■ing•  consumed  our  small  stocks  in  uiaking  to- 
bacco." 

Penn  was  called  to  England  by  a  proposition  in  Parliament 
to  annex  all  proprietary  governments  to  the  Crc^wn.  Another 
Assembly  excused  itself  from  complying  with  the  request  for  con- 
tribution to  the  New  York  forts.  A  subscription  was  started 
for  his  benefit,  to  be  collected  by  Samuel  Carpenter.  On  Octo- 
ber 28,  1 70 1,  he  signed  the  Charter  of  Privileges  under  which 
the  government  of  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware  was  carried  on 
imtil  the  Revolution.  It  began  with  a  declaration  that  no  inhab- 
itant confessing  and  acknowledging  "one  Almighty  God,  the  Cre- 
ator, Upholder  and  Ruler  of  the  World."  and  professing  him- 
self obliged  to  li\e  quietly  under  the  civil  government,  should  be 
molested  or  prejudiced  because  of  conscientious  persuasion  or 
practice,  nor  compelled  to  do  or  suffer  anything  contrary  to  re- 
ligious persuasion,  and  that  all  "'who  also  profess  to  believe  in 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the  World,"  should  be  capable  to 
serve  the  government  in  any  capacity,  they  solemnly  promising, 
when  required,  allegiance  to  the  King  and  fidelity  to  the  Pro- 
prietor and  Governor,  and  taking'  certain  attests.  An  Assem- 
bly was  to  be  chosen  anuually  ou  the  first  day  of  October,  con- 
sisting of  four  persons  from  each  county,  or  more  at  any  time, 
as  the  Governor  and  Assembly  should  agree,  to  meet  at  Philadel- 
phia on  the  fourteenth  of  that  mouth,  unless  the  Governor  and 
Council — only  twice  was  there  any  uieution  of  a  council  in  the 
document — should  appoint  anr)ther  ])lace,  and  to  make  laws  to 


•  1        HO- 


a  ^  o 


2'-'  ■  W 

<   <  *in.  Q 

J  a;  cd  ,  . 

H  u-  r^ 


.  ,«  w  H  u 
;  [iy  00  ^  2:  z  H 


-^  h  >     .   b-  ^ 


u  <  «  f- 


D   *<  M    h 
^  Q    Z 


J 


:^  «  ^ 


i/n   <  a;   OC   ►-•   U 


Z   ■<?  Q  i^   «J 

"o  ou  Z  £  o  u 

00  S  J  ^, 

tJ  J  U  2  J  ^ 

rv    r  1  • '-'  -I  bj  •  —  U 

"^  "J   r^  O  .  1   ^ 


~    "^    « 


^  ^  1  > 

^  >  H  w 

QC  O  «/l  -J 

O  ^^. 
<             00  tj  Q• 
^  >  -r  [^ 


<  U  cj  «o 


H  u  >  O 

LJ-—  2  Z 

n:  >  o 


2:     O    c^^aj 

^        J  a.  u 


*    U   «/i    Cd 

W   >    J   X 
wi   a:  2;   <-H- 


H   u,  Z  2 

S  'i  <  S  H 


U-S   H   Id   h 

°    O   ^   t    ^ 
o  o   h   o 


u 


ON2;  h-  U 


„  :z  u  u  'Z 
^      ^  o  J  >  tJ 

"    Cd    -«    ^    J    D- 

^5  5-35s§ 


o  w       o       H 

UJ         td  «/l   U 
Q^    ,      c^   «/l    QC   Cd 


>    J    vrt    ^ 


Suspension  and   Restoration  of  Government 

be  confirmed  by  the  Governor  and  to  have  all  the  other  powers 
of  an  assembly  usual  in  any  of  the  King's  plantations  in  America. 
On  such  election  day  the  freemen  should  choose  two  persons 
to  nominate  for  sheriff  and  two  for  coroner  in  each  county,  and 
the  Governor  should  commission  one  of  them  for  three  years. 
The  county  justices  should  nominate  three  persons  for  clerk  of 
the  peace,  and  the  Governor  should  commission  one  of  them  dur- 
ing good  Ijehavior.  Xo  person  should  be  obliged  to  answer 
any  matter  relating  to  property  except  in  the  ordinary  courts  of 
justice,  unless  appeals  should  be  appointed  to  the  Governor  and 
Council.  Xo  person  should  be  licensed  Ijy  the  Governor  to  keep 
a  house  of  public  entertainment  except  those  recommended  by 
the  justices  of  the  county  in  open  court,  the  said  justices  being 
empowered  to  forbid  any  person  upon  mislDehavior  from 
keeping  one.  The  estate  of  a  suicide  should  descend  as  if  he  had 
died  a  natural  death,  and  there  should  be  no  forfeiture  to  the  Gov- 
ernor upon  any  accidental  killing.  No  law  should  change  or  di- 
minish the  effect  of  the  charter  except  by  consent  of  the  Gover- 
nor and  six-sevenths  of  the  Assembly,  but  the  clause  for  liberty 
of  conscience  should  remain  without  alteration  inviolable  for- 
ever. A  postscript  provided  that  if  wdthin  three  years  from  date, 
by  the  declaration  of  a  majority  of  the  representatives  of  either 
the  province  or  the  territories  on  the  Delaware,  both  should  no 
longer  be  united  in  one  Assembly,  each  county  in  the  province 
should  have  at  least  eight  representatives  and  the  town 
of  Philadelphia  two  in  future.  On  the  same  day  a  new  charter, 
dated  October  25,  was  signed  for  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  mak- 
ing Edward  Shippen  mayor;  and  a  commission  of  property  was 
issued  to  Edward  Shippen,  Griffith  Owen,  Thomas  Story,  and 
James  Logan.  Moreover,  the  Proprietary  issued  a  commission 
bearing  the  same  date  as  the  charter  of  privileges  to  a  new  Counci: 
of  State,  consisting  of  Edward  Shippen,  John  Guest,  Samuel  Car- 
penter. William  Clark,  Thomas  Story,  Griffith  Owen,  Phineas 
Pemberton,   Samuel   Finney,   Caleb  Pusey.  and  Jr)hn  Blunston. 

343 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 


The}'  were  to  consult  and  assist  the  Proprietai'}-,  it  in  the  colony, 
and  his  deputy  or  Lieutenant-Governor,  for  the  time  being;  and 
in  case  of  the  hitter's  decease  or  incapacity,  to  exercise  all  the 
powers,  jurisdiction,  and  authority  conferred  upon  Penn  bv  the 
charter  of  King  Charles.  They  were  to  hold  office  during  the 
Proprietary's  pleasure,  and  their  number  could  be  increased  by 


Washington's  Hill 

On  this  hill  near  W^aterford,  Washington 
camped  while  on  his  journey  through  the  Alle- 
gheny \'alley  to  investigate  the  French  settle- 
ments in  1/53.  The  French  prevented  his  pro- 
ceeding further.  Photographed  especially  for 
this  work  by   Hon.   John   P.    Vincent 

the  Lieutenant-Governor,  who  could  choose  the  President,  other- 
wise the  first  named  should  take  the  chair.  On  October  30,  Penn 
introduced  to  the  Council  the  Lieutenant-( Governor  whom  he  had 
chosen,  Andrew  Hamilton,  who  held  the  postoffice  for  the  colo- 
nies, and  had  been  Governor  of  Xew  Jerse}'.  David  Lloyd  pre- 
pared a  charter  of  property,  which  was  taken  down  to  Xew  Cas- 
tle as  Penn  w^as  embarking,  October  31,  and  after  some  argu- 
ment signed  l3y  him,  with  an  order  for  Governor  Hamilton  to 
keep  it,  and  have  the  great  seal  affixed,  if  he  did  not  hear  to  the 

344 


Suspension  and   Restoration  of  Government 

contrary  within  six  months.  In  April,  the  vetoing  notification 
came.  Penn  had  sent  after  him  114  laws  passed  during  his 
stay,  to  be  submitted  to  the  King  for  approval.  It  will  be  no- 
ticed that  by  the  charter  of  Charles  II  the  laws  passed  by  the 
Proprietary  and  people  could  be  made  void  by  the  King  within  six 
months  after  presentation  to  him  if  declared  by  the  King  in  Coun- 
cil inconsistent  with  his  sovereignty  or  lawful  prerogative.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  every  law^  had  to  commend  itself  to  those  who  had 
charge  of  trade  and  plantation  affairs,  and  frequently  half  the 
work  of  a  session  of  the  Assembly  had  to  be  done  over  again  to 
obviate  the  objections  of  those  in  London  through  whose  hands 
it  passed.  The  Proprietary  was  often  blamed  fc.r  the  delay  or 
failure  in  securing  the  allowance  of  an  act.  The  laws  which  the 
first  Proprietary  had  enacted  during  his  second  visit  remained 
some  time  before  the  Attorney-General  for  want  of  a  large  fee. 
At  last  he  reported  them,  and  caused  the  rejection  of  a  great 
many. 


345 


CHAPTER  X. 
PENN'S  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS 

THE  first  Proprietary  was  designed  never  to  return,  and  Penn- 
sylvania became  the  estate  of  an  absent  landlord,  and  the 
bailiwick  of  a  deputy.  In  the  choice  of  the  latter,  the  titular 
Governor  was  rarely,  if  ever,  fortunate.  After  the  term  of  Thomas 
Lloyd  a  Quaker  was  never  chosen,  possibly  because  it  was  neces- 
sary for  the  Crown  to  confirm  the  appointment,  and  that  the  ap- 
pointee should  qualify  by  oath,  and  participate  in  military  affairs. 
To  persons  of  distinction,  like  some  of  the  contemporary  heads  of 
neighboring  colonies,  the  office  was  not  an  attractive  one.  The 
salary,  in  early  times  necessarily  small,  was  never  sufficient  to 
tempt  any  one  high  in  the  world.  The  dignity  of  being  lieuten- 
ant under  a  family  of  commoners  was  almost  invisible  to  those 
who  would  have  accepted  a  governorship  directly  under  the 
Crown.  The  power,  dependent  at  first  upon  an  Assembly  tena- 
cious of  its  rights,  became,  as  King  and  Proprietary  added  to  their 
regulations,  so  circumscribed  as  to  chafe  upon  any  man  of  spirit. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  responsibility  might  have  been  capital  in  the 
da}-s  when  there  was  any  doubt  of  the  legality  of  Quaker  courts 
trying  for  murder,  and  when  the  province  must  have  been  sur- 
rendered on  demand  because  of  the  non-resistance  of  the  popu- 
lation ;  and  afterwards,  when  penal  bonds  came  to  be  exacted  for 
compliance  with  the  orders  of  superiors,  the  responsibility  was 
financially  heavy. 


Penn's   Lieutenant-Governors 

Hamilton  served  about  eighteen  months,  until  his  death,  April 
26.  1703,  when  the  Council,  with  Edward  Shippen  as  President, 
took  his  place.  Hamilton,  making  proclamation  of  the  declara- 
tion of  war,  exhorted  his  hearers  to  enlist,  and  soon  afterwards 
appointed  as  captain  of  the  Philadelphia  company,  George  Low- 
ther,  a  lawyer,  of  a  good  Yorkshire  family.  The  drums  beat 
through  the  town,  but  Lowther  found  at  the  field  only  a  few.  and 
those  inconsequential  people.  Before  the  second  muster,  which 
was  the  last,  the  idea  got  abroad  that  these  recruits  were  to  be 
marched  to  Canada,  and  the  anti-Quakers  concluded  that  for 
them  to  form  a  militia  was  a  sure  way  of  enabling  the  Quakers 
to  retain  the  government,  as  the  impossibility  of  having  a  militia 
had  been  the  chief  argument  in  favor  of  depriving  them. 

The  royal  confirmation  of  Hamilton's  appointment  did  not 
arrive  before  he  died.  The  jail  of  Philadelphia  being  full  of 
alleged  murderers  and  felons,  he  appointed  a  special  commission 
to  try  them;  but  the  jurymen,  from  doubts  of  the  validity  of  his 
acts,  would  not  serve  in  a  matter  of  life  and  death.  The  regular 
Provincial  Court  opened  a  few  days  afterwards.  The  Quaker 
judges  were  in  the  majority,  and  notwithstanding  the  protest  of 
the  other  judges,  who  left  the  bench,  and  with  another  prosecuting 
attorney  in  place  of  John  Moore,  the  Attorney-General,  who  re- 
fused, proceeded  without  either  oath  or  affirmation  by  judge,  jury, 
or  witnesses,  but  with  only  the  attest  required  by  the  provincial 
law.  One  woman  was  found  guilty  of  murded.  and  sentenced  to 
1)C  hung,  but  Hamilton's  illness  prevented  his  signing  the  death 
warrant.  A  man  was  convicted  of  manslaughter,  and  burnt  in  the 
hand.  The  inhabitants  not  of  Quaker  views  were  frightened,  as 
they  felt  themselves  at  the  mercy  of  witnesses  not  restrained  by 
reverence  for  an  oath.  Quarry,  it  appears,  did  his  best  to  spread,  if 
he  did  not  start  their  fears.  Penn  in  England  defended  the  Qua- 
kers' course;  said  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  founding  a  new 
country  they  should  have  no  more  rights  tlian  tlicy  left  in  Eng- 
land, and  should  be  obliged  to  withdraw   from  juries.      Mean- 

347 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

while  an  order  from  the  Queen  was  lieing-  carried  tn  Pennsylva- 
nia, requiring-  all  persons  in  judicial  or  other  office  to  take  the 
oath  directed  by  the  law  of  England  or  the  affirmation  allowed 
by  it  to  Quakers,  and  all  persons  who  were  in  England  obliged 
and  willing  to  take  an  oath  to  be  admitted  to  do  so  by  the  ofificers 
or  judges  in  Pennsylvania  and  the  lower  counties,  in  default 
whereof  their  proceedings  should  be  null  and  void.  Penn  ad- 
vised his  people  to  disregard  this,  as  conflicting  with  the  laws 
established  by  virtue  of  King  Charles's  charter. 

The  inhabitants  of  New  Castle,  Kent,  and  Sussex,  not  being 
of  the  sects  opposed  to  taking  oaths  or  bearing  arms,  were  restive 
under  Quaker  control;  but  it  was  really  at  the  motion  of  the 
Pennsylvania  assemblymen  that,  in  1702,  a  separation  in  the  leg- 
islature took  place,  and  was  permanent.  Quarry  urged  the  Lords 
of  Trade  to  have  those  counties  placed  directly  under  the  Crowai, 
which  had  never  granted  to  Penn  the  government  of  them;  and 
he  said  that  the  only  title  Penn  had  to  such  government  was  the 
old  act  of  union,  which  the  people  had  been  cajoled  into  passing. 
In  subsequent  history,  the  Assembly  of  these  "lower  counties" 
generally  followed  the  wishes  of  the  acting  governor.  By  acci- 
dent, which  Quarry  tortured  into  a  design,  there  was  no  mention 
of  the  lower  counties  in  the  commission  to  the  Council. 

Of  the  three  Lieutenant-Governors  next  in  order,  the  first  was 
dissolute;  the  second,  deranged;  and  the  third,  dishonest.  One 
beat  the  watchman,  but  is  chiefly  remembered  for  getting  up  a 
false  alarm  to  scare  the  Quakers,  another  for  kicking  the  judges 
at  New  Castle,  and  the  last,  the  one  of  noble  lineage,  for  sending 
young  and  poor  Ben  Eranklin  to  London  on  the  false  promise 
of  letters  of  credit.  The  first  Proprietary,  immediately  on  hearing 
of  Hamilton's  death,  nominated  the  son.  twenty-six  years  of  age. 
of  an  old  friend,  and  there  was  no  delay  in  receiving  the  royal 
approbation,  or  in  entering  the  security.  A  clause  was  inserted 
in  his  commission  making  void  all  laws  he  should  enact  without 
the  personal  assent  of  the  Proprietary.     This  proviso  the  Council 

348 


1/^ 

0\ 


Penn's   Lieutenant-Governors 

unanimously  declared  illegal  without  annulling  the  commission. 
Lieutenant-Governor  John  Evans  arrived  12  mo.  2,  1703-4.  in 
company  with  the  Proprietary's  oldest  son,  William  Penn,  Jr. 
The  representatives  of  the  people  were  nettled  by  Evans's  at- 
tempt, which  was  futile,  to  bring  about  a  reunion  of  the  province 
and  lower  counties  in  Assembly,  and  b}'  his  asking  a  reconsidera- 
tion of  the  refusal  of  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  to  contribute 
to  the  New  York  forts;  so  there  began  whh  the  first  Assembly  a 
quarrel  which  embraced  the  Proprietary,  as  the  latter,  who  had 
not  yet  received  the  taxes  and  gifts  for  his  benefit,  desired  the 
people  to  come  to  his  relief  by  assuming  the  support  of  all  branches 
of  the  government,  and  asked  moreover  fur  the  pa}-ment  of  the 
200/.  which  he  owed  for  Hamilton's  salary.  The  Assembly,  of 
which  David  Llo}d  was  Speaker,  adjourned  for  weeks  at  a  time 
on  account  of  the  fair,  the  harvests,  etc. ;  and  in  the  intervals, 
when  for  a  few  days  there  was  a  sitting,  excused  itself  again 
from  contributing  to  the  forts  in  New  York,  and  instead  of  levy- 
ing taxes,  passed  laws  for  securing  and  confirming  the  privileges- 
of  itself  and  the  city  corporation,  and  the  rights  of  private  indi- 
viduals. One  of  these  bills  did  not  receive  Evans's  consent,  be- 
cause it  included  the  right  of  the  Assembly  to  sit  upon  its  own 
adjournment,  and  he  was  advised  that  Penn  had  never  given  up 
the  power  of  prorogation  and  dissolution.  Evans  by  proclama- 
tion declared  void  the  proceedings  of  the  courts  where  the 
Queen's  order  as  to  oaths  had  not  been  complied  with,  and  so  vice 
went  unpunished.  He  organized  a  militia,  promising  to  those 
who  enlisted  exemption  from  the  duty  of  w'atch  and  ward,  which 
the  corporation  of  Philadelphia  imposed  upon  the  citizens.  \\'hen 
some  of  the  militiamen  declined  to  watch,  the  constables,  under 
order  of  their  superiors,  reported  the  names  to  the  mayor's  court, 
and,  probably  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Quakers,  soldiering  with- 
out pay  l^eing  a  thankless  task,  yevy  few  appeared  at  the  next 
muster.  Then  by  advice  of  the  Council,  the  Lieutenant-Governor 
by   proclamati(.>n    repeated    the   exemption.     One   evening   hard 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

words  were  exchanged  at  a  tavern  between  the  niiHtia  officers  and 
the  watchmen,  and  the  next  night  William  Penn.  Jr.,  was  there 
when  the  watch  came  around,  and  assisted  in  beatino-  off  the  custo- 
dians  of  the  peace.  The  heir  apparent  was  duly  presented  for 
the  offense  with  liis  comrades;  which  he  took  in  such  high 
dudgeon  that  he  soon  went  back  to  England,  selling  his  manor, 
and  so  being  able  to  face  his  creditors.  Jenkins  in  his  "Family 
of  ^^^illiam  Penn"  points  out  that  this  was  not  the  street  brawl 
in  which  Evans  was  engaged,  where  the  mayor,  recorder,  and 
Joseph  Wilcox,  an  alderman,  came  to  the  assistance  of  the  watch- 
men, and  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  making  himself  known,  was 
beaten  by  Wilcox  more  severely  for  having  given  such  occasion 
for  scandal.  On  this  latter  occasion  Griffith  Jones  was  mayor; 
on  the  former,  Anthony  Morris.  He  with  his  aldermen  re- 
monstrated that  by  the  proclamation  "many  of  the  good  people 
of  the  city  were  much  discouraged."  Evans  replied:  "Too 
many  of  those  good  people  you  mention  are  such  as  oppose  a 
militia,  not  from  any  principle  against  it,  but  through  an  uneasi- 
ness to  see  anything  done  under  the  present  administration  that 
may  recommend  us  and  the  Proprietor's  affairs  to  the  Crown." 
So  the  proclamation  was  not  recalled.  Just  before  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  Assembly,  a  committee  was  appointed  by  it  to  ad- 
dress the  Proprietary  in  plain  terms.  The  result  was  the  setting 
forth  in  a  "most  virulent,  unmannerly  invective,"  prepared  by 
David  Lloyd,  of  a  number  of  complaints,  beginning  with  claus- 
es in  the  Governor's  commission  inconsistent  with  the  charter 
and  the  negligence  of  Penn  in  procuring  the  royal  assent  to  most 
necessary  bills,  and  then  proceeding  to  the  injustice  practiced  by 
the  surveyors,  the  office  of  Surveyor-General  having  been  vacant 
since  1701,  and  the  failure  of  the  commissioners  of  property  to 
give  lands  in  exchange  for  those  lost  by  adverse  title.  This  was 
enclosed  in  a  letter  to  Friends  in  England  known  to  be  enemies 
of  Penn,  asking  them  to  iibhge  him  to  do  justice,  saying  that  the 
vilest  of  men  were  let  into  the  judiciary,  and  speaking  of  "the 


Penn's  Lieutenant-Governors 

ccjndition  this  \hh)Y  ])ri)\ince  is  Ijroiight  to  by  the  hite  re\'els  and 
disorders  Avhich  young  William  Penn  and  his  gang  of  loose  fel- 
lows he  accompanies  with  are  found  in."  The  writing  of  such 
a  letter  caused  some  little  reaction;  Init  the  contest  was  continued 
by  the  Assembly  elected  after  the  address  was  written.  In  speak- 
ing of  Evans.  \\'illiam  Biles,  member  from  Bucks  comity,  whom 
Logan  calls  "that  pestiferous  old  man,"'  announced.  "He  is  but  a 


Franklin's  device  and  niutto  published  in  the 
Pennsylvania  Gazette  at  the  time  of  the  Albany 
Congress  of  the   Colonies,   1734 

boy:  he  is  not  fit  to  be  our  Oovernor.  We'll  kick  him  out.  We'll 
kick  him  out."  Whereupon  the  indignant  officer  sued  Biles  for 
slander,  and  demanded  that  the  Assembly  expel  him.  This  it  de- 
clined to  do;  and  accordingly  it  was  dismissed,  June  2^,  1705- 
Owen,  Pusey,  and  Plill  of  the  Council  prepared  a  letter  to  the 
Proprietary,  declaring  their  abhorrence  of  Lloyd's  paper,  and  as- 
suring him  of  their  readiness  to  support  all  the  charge  of  govern- 
ment. It  was  signed  by  the  great  mass  of  the  Friends,  now 
stirred  up  in  faxor  of  their  comrade  and  patron;  and  it  was  made 
effectual  by  an  energetic  political  canvass,  resulting  in  the  choice 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and    Federal 

of  menil)ers  of  Asseml)ly  well  affected  towards  the  F'rojjrietary, 
among  them  being  Shippen.  Cari)enter.  I'usey,  and  Hill  of  the 
Council.  There  was  only  one  member  not  a  Quaker.  An  act  for 
the  collection  of  qnit-rents  sectn'ed  to  Penn  that  source  of  income, 
and  the  appropriation  of  800/.  out  of  a  ilAd.  per  /.  tax  and  aloout 
600/.  from  an  impost  on  li(|uors  settled  the  trouble  about  the 
Lieutenant-Governor's  salar}-  and  the  other  public  charges.  A 
number  of  the  laws  rejected  b}'  the  Queen  were  re-enacted,  duly 
modified.  The  Pennsylvania  method  now  used  of  suing  out  a 
mortgage  was  then  put  in  the  statute  books. 

There  never  was  in  Pennsyhania,  during  the  colonial  period, 
to  our  knowledge,  any  molestation  or  interruption  of  the  liberty 
of  Jews, -Deists,  or  Unitarians,  the  first  named,  in  fact,  becoming 
well  represented  in  Philadelphia,  and  at  an  early  date,  Da\id 
Franks  and  others  of  them  being  taken  into  its  fashionable  circle; 
therefore  it  is  interesting  chiefly  as  an  evidence  how  generally  the 
Quakers  in  1705  accepted  Athanasian  orthodoxy  that,  while  the 
frame  of  government  of  i/Oi,  as  we  have  seen,  guaranteed  lib- 
erty of  conscience  to  all  who  confessed  and  acknowledged  "one 
Almighty  God,  the  Creator,  Upholder,  and  Ruler  of  the  \\'orld,'" 
and  made  eligible  for  ofiice  all  who  believed  in  "Jesus  Christ  the 
Saviour  of  the  World,"  the  act  concerning  liberty  of  conscience 
l^assed  by  this  Assembly  ha\ing  only  one  non-Quaker  member, 
established  as  the  religion  of  the  land  Christianit)-  and  belief  in 
the  Bible,  l)y  these  words :  ".Almighty  God  being  only  Lord  of 
conscience,  author  of  all  divine  knowledge,  faith,  and  worship, 
who  can  onl)'  enlighten  the  minds,  and  con\'ince  the  understanding 
of  people;  in  due  reverence  to  His  sovereignty  over  the  souls  of 
mankind  ;  and  the  better  to  unite  the  Queen's  Christian  subjects 
in  interest  and  affection.  Be  it  enacted  that  no  person  now  or  at 
any  time  hereafter  dwelling  or  residing  within  this  Province  who 
shall  profess  faith  in  (nxl  the  Father  and  in  Jesus  Christ  his  only 
Son  and  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  one  God  blessed  for  evermore,  and 
shall   acknowledge   the   FTol}-    Scrii)tin'es   of   the   Old    and    New 

354 


Pen n's   Lieutenant-Governors 

Testament  to  l;e  g"i\en  In  Dixiiie  inspiration,  and  when  lawfully 
required  shall  profess  and  declare  that  they  will  live  peaceably 
under  the  ci\il  jnoxernment.  shall  in  any  case  be  molested  or  preju- 
diced for  his  or  her  conscientious  persuasicm.  nor  shall  he  or  she 
l)e  at  an_\-  time  compelled  to  tre(|uent  or  maintain  an_\-  religious 
worship-place  or  nn'nistry  whatsoever  contrary  to  his  or  her  mind, 
but  shall  freely  and  fully  enjoy  his  or  her  Christian  liberty  in  all 
respects,  without  molestation  or  interruption."  To  anticipate,  in 
Sir  William  Keith's  time.  liev.  I'iichard  W'elton.  1).  D..  haxing 
come  to  Christ  Church.  Philadelphia,  after  recei\"ing  consecration 
as  a  bisho])  pri\ately  through  the  Scotch  non-jurors,  was  threat- 
ened with  molestation  chiefly  for  political  reasons ;  when  he 
prayed  for  the  King  without  naming  George,  so  as  to  leave  it  open 
whether  the  Stuart  was  not  the  lawful  sovereign.  Keith  shut  up 
Christ  Church,  and  W'elton.  summoned  to  England,  went  to 
Portugal,  and  died  in  Lisbon.  When  in  Patrick  Ciordon's  time, 
a  Roman  Catholic  cha])el  was  erected,  that  Lieutenant-Governor 
thought  that  the  laws  of  Parliament  required  him  to  suppress  it, 
but.  there  being  uf)  desire  to  do  this,  it  was  postponed  pending  a 
decision  by  the  British  government  as  to  whether  the  immunity 
granted  by  Pennsylvania  law  did  not  protect  the  religious  follow- 
ers of  the  Pope.  During  the  French  war.  official  suspicion  and 
popular  feeling  were  strong  against  those  who  had  the  same  re- 
ligion as  France,  and  after  Braddock's  defeat,  a  mob  attacked  the 
Roman  Catholics  in  Philadel])hia.  but  Quakers  protected  them. 

Obtaining  a  \'erdict  for  300/.  against  Biles,  whom  the  Yearly 
Meeting  also  condemned  for  such  language.  Fx'ans  was  appealed 
to  by  the  .\sseml)l_\-  to  forgixe  him.  and  promised  the  committee 
to  notif}-  them  if  he  had  cause  to  do  anything  further:  but  l^>iles. 
coming  to  town  on  this  assurance,  the  Lieutenant-Cio\-ernor.  after 
shaking  hands  with  him,  liad  him  arrested,  and  notified  the  com- 
mittee afterwards.  The  old  man  lay  a  month  in  jail,  receiving 
ex'ery  attention  from  "our  good  women,"  as  Logan  calls  them: 
then  l',\ans.  tinding  no  mnne)"  was  to  be  obtained,  released  Biles, 

355 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

Evans  forget!  a  letter  from  the  ("i()\'ernor  of  ]\lar)laiKl  an- 
nouncing that  privateers  were  off  tlie  X'irgiiiia  capes,  and  some 
days  afterward  arranged  diat  John  l^-ench  of  New  Castle  should 
come  up  to   Philadcljihia   in   great  haste  and   api)arent  alarm  to 


James  Hamilton 

^Member  Provincial  Assembly,  1734;  mayor  of 
Philadelphia,  1745;  member  Provincial  Council, 
1746:  lieutenant-governor,  1748-1754,  and  again 
1759-1763:  president  of  the  Council  in  1771 ;  also 
acting  governor  about  two  months  in   1773 

frighten  the  citizens  with  a  tale  that  Lewes  had  been  burnt  and 
six  French  brigantines  had  bombarded  the  fort  at  New  Castle,  and 
were  making  up  the  ri\-er,  it  being  hoped  that  sufficient  Quakers 
would  lose  their  presence  of  mind  and  respond  to  a  call  to  arms 
to  make  apparent  forever  the  inconsistency  of  the  members  of  the 
Society  of  Friends.  French  fulfilled  his  part,  and  Evans  spread 
the  rejxjrt,  summoning  those  who  would  defend  themselves.  Some 


Pciin's   Lieutenant-Governors 

persons  tried  to  send  their  goods  out  of  town,  and  were  actually 
fired  upon  by  the  militia.  Half  a  dozen  young  Quakers  shoul- 
dered their  guns ;  but  it  being  a  Meeting  day,  the  Meeting  was  held 
as  usual,  and  the  Quakers  generally  trusted  in  the  Lord.  Logan 
took  a  row  boat  d<iwn  the  river  where  he  learned  the  truth,  and, 
returning,  (juieted  the  people.  Evans  soon  afterwards  decided  to 
call  a  special  session  of  the  Assembly,  the  councillors  who  were 
not  Quakers  declaring  that  he  should  throw  upon  it  the  respon- 
sibility for  not  defending  the  province.  The  Quaker  councillors, 
themselves  members  of  the  House,  expostulated;  as  those  of  their 
persuasion  could  onlv  send  a  negative  answer,  there  would  be  no 
other  result  than  to  injure  them:  they  believed  it  a  preliminary 
step  to  deprive  the  people  of  the  constitution.  The  Assembly,  of 
course,  did  not  take  any  belligerent  measures ;  the  reply  said.  'A\'e 
hope  we  are  not  in  much  danger,  considering  our  remoteness  from 
the  sea  and  difficulty  of  access.  *  *  *  the  Queen's  colonies 
of  Virginia  and  Maryland,  which  are  far  more  ancient  settlements 
than  ours,  have  no  fortifications  we  know  of  this  day;  therefore 
we  hcjpe  tliat  nothing  shall  prevail  to  render  us  more  obnoxious 
to  the  Queen  than  our  neighbors."  Evans  found  the  Assembly 
of  the  lower  counties  more  to  his  mind.  He  permitted  fines  to  be 
imposed  upon  those  residing  there  who  had  scruples  against  mil- 
itary service,  but  were  in  the  minority :  which  course  was  natural- 
ly resented  by  the  majority  in  Pennsylvania.  There  was  a  fort 
at  Xew  Castle,  and  P^vans  consented  to  a  law  that  every  vessel  go- 
ing down  the  river  should  pay  powder-money.  The  Quaker  trad- 
ers declared  they  would  not  comply,  and  gave  orders  to  that  ef- 
fect to  the  masters  of  their  vessels.  In  the  spring  of  1707  a  sloop 
bound  for  liarbados  was  about  to  sail  when  the  Lieutenant-(iov- 
ernor  told  the  master  that  if  he  did  not  slop  at  Xew  Castle,  the  ve.s- 
sel  should  be  fired  upon,  and  he  made  prisoner.  The  master  re- 
ported this  to  Hill,  the  principal  owner,  who  indignantly  remon- 
strated willi  the  ( io\ernor — a  Eicutenant-(  ".(.vernor  was  i)opu- 
larlv  called   "Covernor"" — and  then   went  aboard  the  vessel,  and 

357 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

in  it  proceeded  down  the  ri\cr.  The  (ioxenior  had  hurried  io 
New  Castle  on  horseback,  and  set  a  watch  in  the  fort  for  the  sloop. 
When  the  vessel  came  within  raiio"e,  the  fort  opened  hre,  but  the 
sloop  escaped  nninjnred,  and,  hotly  ]:)nrsned  by  boats,  in  one  of 
which  was  the  (jovernor,  put  o^•er  to  Salem,  New  Jersey,  carrying 
along  John  French,  who  had  boarded  it.  There  Hill  placed  him- 
self under  the  protection  of  the  Queen's  dag;  and  Lord  C()rnbury, 
Governor  of  the  Jerseys,  arriving,  and  resenting  the  invasion  of 
his  jurisdiction  as  Admiral  over  Delaware  bay  and  river,  insisted 
upon  the  sloop  being  allowed  to  proceed  on  its  voyage.  This 
signal  bra\ery  of  Richard  Hill.  wIk^  dared  to  stand  hre,  although 
he  could  not  conscientiously  return  it,  brought  to  the  Quakers 
freedom  from  the  imposition  of  which  they  complained.  By  not 
mentioning  the  Proprietarv's  design  of  selling  the  government, 
Logan  had  added  to  the  ill  will  felt  for  him  as  the  Pro])rietary"s 
steward,  and  in  the  long  course  of  contention  on  a  bill  to  establish 
courts,  when  Logan  advised  that  courts  be  re-established  by  Evans 
under  the  right  granted  to  Penn  by  charter,  the  House  declared 
Logan  an  enemy  of  the  (lovernor  and  government  and  on  Febru- 
ary 26.  1706-".  presented  articles  of  impeachment  against  him, 
which  the  Lieutenant-Governor  decided  he  could  not  try. 

After  the  death  of  Philip  Ford,  his  widow  and  three  children 
claimed  the  ])rovince  and  territories  under  the  (^Id  deed  to  him, 
maintaining  that  since  April  i.  1700.  Penn  had  been  only  tenant 
at  will,  and  they  brought  suit  for  £2,000  arrears  of  rent,  filed  a 
bill  in  chancery,  and  petitioned  the  Queen  to  put  them  in  posses- 
sion and  take  to  herself  the  go\'ernment.  Penn  offered  the  pay- 
ment of  one-half  with  security  for  the  other  half  of  what  should 
be  found  on  adjusting  accounts,  and  proposed  a  reference  to  mem- 
bers of  the  Society  of  Friends  mutually  chosen.  This  being  re- 
fused he  appealed  to  the  Meeting  which  the  family  attended,  which 
on  10  mo.  26,  1705,  admonished  and  disowned  them.  Isaac  Nor- 
ris  went  to  England  the  next  year,  and  labored  for  a  compromise, 
while  attempts  were  made  to  raise  monev  for  Penn.  who  wrote 

358 


Penn's  Lieutenant-Governors 

that  if  friends  in  rennsylvania  would  give  £5,000.  he  would  come 
and  live  aniont;-  them.  William  Penn  Jr..  agreeing  to  have  the 
estate  at  WOrminghurst  sold,  it  brought  enough  to  clear  all  debts 
but  that  to  the  I'ords:  and  the  son  was  reconciled  to  his  father, 
who.  looking  for  a  new  Lieutenant-(  "lovernor.  thought  of  appoint- 
ins:  him.  but  Xorris  advised  against  it.  .\  verdict  was  obtained 
against  W'ilham  IV-nn  for  the  rent.  etc..  £3.000.  whicli  liis  friends 
insisted  that  he  should  not  pay,  as  certain  members  of  the  Society 
had,  on  examination,  reported  that  the  I'ords  were  entitled  only 
to  £4,303  instead  of  £14,000.  On  1  1  mo.  7.  bailiffs  came  for  him 
at  Meeting,  but  Henry  Ciouldney  and  Herbert  S])ringett  induced 
them  not  to  take  him  out  of  the  gallery  by  ])romising  that  he 
would  come  in  a  few  hours,  which  he  did.  and  then  turned  him- 
self over  to  the  Fleet.  The  Lord  Chancellor,  to  whom  the  Oueen 
referred  the  ])etiti(»n.  said  that  Penn  had  an  ecpiity  of  redemption 
in  the  land,  and  that  his  powers  of  government  were  not  pledged. 
Finally  a  comi)romise  was  effected.  The  Fords  acce])ted  £7.600. 
and  executed  a  release,  Penn  leaving  the  Old  I5ailey.  Henry 
(iouldney  and  seven  other  Englishmen,  among  tlieni  I'enn's  fath- 
er-in-law Callowhill,  furnished  £6,600  of  the  money,  and  to  them 
I'enn  and  his  heir  apparent  executed  a  mortgage  dated  Oct.  7, 
1708,  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  lower  counties,  and  all  purchase 
monev  due  and  (|uit  rents  in  arrears  or  to  fall  due,  rennsbiuw  and 
some  tracts  being  excepted,  and  with  ])ower  in  the  mortgagees  to 
sell  land  if  the  princi])al  were  not  re])ai(l  in  two  years  with  6  per 
cent,  interest,  meanwhile  I'enn  and  his  son  to  have  power  to  con- 
vey clear. 

Charles  Gookin,  a  res])ectable  army  ot'ticcr.  assumed  tlie  duties 
of  LieiUenani-(  ioNcrnor  on  I'cbruary  2.  1  7oS-(;.  instructed  by  Penn 
not  topassaai)-  laws  without  theai)probation  of  the  Cotuicil.  The 
As.sembly  urged  him  to  disregard  this,  as  he  was  acting  in  place  of 
William  Penn.  who  w  ith  the  Assembly  had  all  the  powers  of  legis- 
lation, and  it  furthermore  blamed  Logan  for  mo.st  of  the  disagree- 
ment between  the  Lieutenant-(lo\ernors  and  the  people,  and  more 

359 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 


than  once  remonstrated  a^'ainst  Logan's  continnance  in  the  Coun- 
cil. Logan  rei)lied  in  an  exposure  of  Lloyd.  Upon  receipt  of 
an  order  from  tlie  Queen  for  the  pro\ince  to  furnish  150  men  as 
part  of  a  force  of  1,500  against  Canada,  and  for  which  (iookin 
asked  4,000/.,  the  Assemhly  refused  to  pay  "money  to  hire  men  to 
fight  and  kill  one  another,"  hut  out  of  g-ratitucle  to  the  Queen 


Old  Shawanee  Church 

Site  of  Fort  Diipui,  about  five  and  one-half 
miles  from  Stroudsburg,  on  the  Delaware  river. 
The  fort  was  probably  built  earlier  than  1755. 
From  a  sketch   made  especially   for  this  work 

voted  to  her  500/.  and  appropriated  300/.  for  all  necessary  ex- 
presses and  other  public  charges.  In  October.  1709,  Hill  was  chosen 
mayor  of  the  city,  and  the  influence  of  the  corporation  was  turned 
in  favor  of  the  Proprietary.  As  to  Logan's  charges  against  Lloyd, 
an  investigating  committee  reported  to  the  Assembly  that  Logan 
had  refused  to  Ijring  proof.  He  was  then  preparing  to  embark  for 
England.  Imt  on  the  25th  of  November,  the  House  ordered  the 
sheriff  of  Philadelphia  county  to  attach  his  body,  and  detain  him 

360 


Penn's  Lieutenant-Governors 

in  the  cnunt\-  jail  until  he  .^Imnld  make  satisfaction  for  liis  reflec- 
tions on  sundry  nieml)ers.  The  sheriff  refused  to  oljey.  but  it  was 
fearefl  that  some  of  the  mem1)ers  themselves  would  make  the  ar- 
rest ;  so  the  (jovernor  was  obliged  to  interpose  his  protection,  and 
Logan  sailed  a  few  days  afterwards.  The  next  election  sent  an 
entirely  new  set  of  men  to  the  Assembl}-.  It  voted  2.000/.  to  the 
Queen's  use.  Hill  was  Speaker  during  the  session  and  the  next, 
as  also  in  1716.  and  was  in  the  Assembly  continuously  until  1721. 
We  must  recognize  him  as  a  political  leader  who  did  most  to  pre- 
serve Ouaker  and  I'roprietar}-  ascendency  in  his  day.  During  his 
last  term  as  maxor  and  Speaker.  Lieutenant-Governor  (iookin 
charged  him  with  disaffection  to  King  (leorge.  and  said  the  only 
occasion  of  difference  between  them  was  that  Gookin  would  not 
agree  to  Hill's  project  of  proclaiming  the  Pretender.  The  Assem- 
bly went  into  committee  of  the  whcjle  on  this  charge,  and  commu- 
nicated with  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  held  several  meetings; 
but  (iookin.  whose  conduct  on  man\"  occasions  betokened  a  dis- 
ordered mind,  replied  that  he  was  not  obliged  to  render  to  the 
House  any  reasons  for  his  accusation,  but  would  do  so  to  the  Board 
at  home.  He  said  he  believed  in  his  conscience  that  the  Speaker 
was  in  favor  of  the  Pretender;  but  further  than  this  gave  the  mem- 
bers no  satisfaction.  The  House  accordingly  declared  the  charg^es 
without  foundation,  adding  that  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  having' 
approved  of  Hill  to  be  Speaker,  should  in  justice  to  the  Assembly 
give  grounds  for  the  charge,  or  clear  him  of  the  imputation. 
After  William  Keith  became  Lieutenant-Governor.  Gookin  was 
agfain  asked  for  his  reasons,  the  new  official  being  unwilling  to 
have  any  one  in  his  Council  w  ho  was  believed  disloyal,  but  nothing 
further  was  elicited.  Logan,  too,  was  included  in  the  charge,  the 
investigation,  and  the  acquittal.  His  real  sentiments  were  ex- 
pressed in  a  letter  to  Hannah  TVnn.  urging  that  Gookin  be  re- 
moved and  his  i)lace  tilled  b\-  Colonel  Keith,  who,  he  says,  might 
labor  under  the  suspicion  of  being  a  Jacobite,  and  so  fail  to  l)e  com- 
missioned :     "P.ut  as  these  distinctions  cannot  affect  us.  who  want 

361 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

notliini;-  but  peace  under  llie  Crown  of  ICui^iand,  and  lia\e  no  pow- 
er either  to  adxanee  or  retard  any  interest,  all  our  \ie\vs.  or  rath- 
er wishes,  are  to  lia\e  a  person  over  us  who  ma_\-  trul\-  ])iu-sue  the 
interest  of  tlie  country."   . 

William  Penn  finally  in  1712  came  to  an  ag'reement  with  the 
Crown  for  the  sale  to  it  of  his  rights  of  government  for  £12,000, 
of  W'hich  £1,000  were  paid  to  liim  on  account. 

Keith  was  not  closely,  if  at  all,  related  to  the  ex-Quaker  (leorge 
Keith,  but  was  the  son  of  a  Scotch  baronet,  and  succeeded  to  that 
rank,  Ixit  to  no  estate,  while  Lieutenant-Governor.  This  admin- 
istration began  May  31,  1717,  and  lasted  nine  years. 

On  May  31,  1718,  while  the  enlightened  legislator  William 
Penn  was  still  alive,  but  having  been  for  about  six  vears  mentally 
unfit  for  business,  although  occasionally  signing  his  name,  the 
Assembly  passed  "an  act  for  the  advancement  of  justice  and  more 
certain  administration  thereof,"  extending  the  severity  of  certain 
acts  of  Parliament  t(T  the  colony ;  for  instance,  any  person  com- 
mitting a  robbery  by  assaulting  another  on  or  near  the  highway, 
putting  him  in  fear,  and  taking  from  his  person  money  or  other 
goods  t(j  any  value  wdiatsoever.  and  e\en  the  counsellors,  aiders, 
comforters,  and  abettors  of  such  robber,  should  sulTer  as  felons 
according  to  the  statutes  in  such  cases  provided  in  Great  Britain; 
any  person  cutting  off  or  disabling  a  limb  or  mem1>er,  or  counsel- 
ling, aiding,  or  abetting  such  act,  should  sufYer  death;  any  person 
breaking-  into  a  dwelling-  house  at  night  to  commit  a  felon}-  should 
suffer  death;  any  person  burning  a  barn  or  an  out-house  having 
corn  or  hay  therein  should  suffer  death.  The  act,  being  approved 
by  the  King  in  Council,  confirmed  finally  the  right  of  judges,  jury- 
men, and  witnesses  to  (jualify  themselves  according  to  their  con- 
scientious ])ersuasion  respectively  by  taking  either  a  cor])oral  oath 
or  the  affirmation  allowed  by  act  of  Parliament  for  Quakers. 

At  this  time,  the  white  ]")o])ulation  of  Penn's  dominion  was,  it 
is  estimated,  about  40,000,  one- fourth  of  whom  lived  in  Phila- 
delphia.     About  one-half  belonged  to  the  Society  of  i'riends. 

362 


CHAPTER  XI. 
THE  CLAIM  OF  THE  HEIR-AT-LAW 

UI'OX  ilie  (leatli  of  William  Penn.  July  3(1.  \j\H.  various 
legal  (|uestions  arose  as  to  the  governorship.  His  will, 
dated  in  1712,  had  devised  it  to  two  noblemen  in  trust  to 
.sell  to  the  Crown  or  other  ])ers(m ;  and  his  own  agreement  tor  its 
sale  to  the  Crown  was  still  undisposed  of.  Subject  to  these  ar- 
rangements, and  except  so  far  as  rec|uired  for  these  purj^oses.  to 
whom  did  the  ]5owers  of  government  go?  All  lands,  tenements 
and  hereditaments  in  America,  after  sale  of  sufficient  to  pay  debts, 
and  with  the  exception  of  40,000  acres,  were  to  be  conveyed  by  cer- 
tain trustees,  Hannah  Penn.  Thomas  Callowhill.  Margaret  Low- 
ther,  (Gilbert  Heathcote.  Samuel  Waldenfield.  John  Field.  Henry 
Gouldney,  Samuel  Carpenter.  Richard  Hill.  Isaac  Xorris.  Samuel 
Preston,  and  James  Logan,  to  the  children  of  his  second  wife  in 
such  shares  and  for  such  estates  as  she  should  appoint.  She,  in 
Novemljer.  1718,  reserving  a  power  to  revoke  and  alter,  appointed 
one-half  in  fee  to  her  son  John  Penn.  he  paying  £1.500  to  his 
sister  Margaret,  and  the  other  half  in  fee  jointly  to  the  younger 
sons.  Thomas,  Richard,  and  Dennis.  The  heir-at-law.  however, 
was  William  I'cnn  Jr.  child  of  the  first  wife,  and  jjrovided  for  by 
the  estate  in  Ireland,  but  now  raising  the  question,  could  the  gov- 
ernorship, being  of  the  nature  of  an  hereditary  title  and  jurisdic- 
tion be  assigned  or  devised  away  from  the  heir-at-law?  William 
Penn  Jr.  therefore  issued  a  new  commission  to  Keith,  which  ar- 
rived in  A])ril.  ijKj.  and  which  Keith  and  the  Council  wore  will- 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

ing-  to  i)ul)lish.  hut  the  Assenil)ly  thought  this  unnecessarx',  as  a 
la\v  of  the  province  authorized  the  Lieutenant-Governor  to  hold 
over.  The  Crown  sent  an  order  to  Keith  to  cf)ntinue  until  the 
Proprietor  and  the  trustees  should  adjust  their  differences. 

The  muse  of  history  has  not  taken  the  heir-at-law  under  her 
protection,  certainly  not  the  muse  recognized  by  the  Quakers. 
The  son  of  a  g-reat  father  often  figures  as  the  latter's  antithesis. 
^^'illiam  Penn  Jr.  may  not  have  been  great ;  he  is  to  be  classified 
among  the  unfortunates,  rather  than  the  unworthy.  About  the 
time  he  came  of  age,  his  father's  circumstances  required  the  first 
wife's  children  to  consent  to  the  sale  of  propertv  which  came  to 
them  from  her.  The  conduct  in  Pennsylvania  which  enabled  the 
father's  enemies  to  speak  of  "the  disorders  of  young  William 
Penn"  and  his  "gang  of  loose  fellows"  is  not  proved  by  such 
strong  language  to  have  included  any  moral  delinquencies.  He 
had  kept  "top  company,"  that  is,  associated  with  his  equals  in 
worldly  rank,  before  he  came,  and  he  unsuccessfully  ran  for  Par- 
liament after  he  went  back  to  England.  The  following  words  in 
the  instructions  which  he  sent  with  his  commission  do  not  soiuid 
like  those  of  an  irreligious,  dissolute,  or  narrow  minded  lordling: 
"If  you  can  procure  a  militia  to  be  settled  by  law,  slip  not  the  oc- 
casion of  doing  it,  but  as  that  covmtry  was  chiefly  at  first  settled 
by  Quakers  I  would  not  have  them  oppressed  on  any  account. 
Protect  the  people  under  }-our  care  in  all  the  rights,  privileges,  and 
liberties  my  father  granted  them  by  charter  or  otherwise  or  that 
they  ought  to  enjoy  as  Englishmen.  Observe  the  law  for  liberty 
of  conscience,  which  I  take  to  be  a  fundamental  one  in  Pennsyl- 
^•ania,  and  was  one  great  encouragement  for  the  Quakers  to  trans- 
port themselves  thither,  and  to  make  it  what  it  now  is,  for  which 
they  merit  the  favor  of  nu'  family  as  well  as  on  many  other  ac- 
counts, and  shall  always  have  it  when  in  my  power;  and  this  I 
desire  you  will  let  the  people  know.  But  as  T  profess  myself  to 
be  a  member  of  the  Church  of  England,  therefore  I  recommend  it 
to  you  to  l)e  careful  of  her  interest,  and  that  }()U  encourage  and 

364 


Claim  of  the  Heir-at-La\v 

protect  the  clergy  and  emj^loy  where  yon  can  deserving'  members 
of  that  communion,  for  I  think  they  ought  to  have  at  least  an 
equal  share  in  the  administration  of  public  offices  with  their  neigh- 
bors of  other  persuasions.  Discountenance  all  Anti-Trinitarians 
iind  libertines.      Protect  in  their  possessions  such  strangers  as  are 


Richard  Penn 

Proprietary  and  titular  governor  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  the  counties  of  New  Castle,  Kent 
and  Sussex,  on  the  Delaware  river;  born  1706; 
died  1771.     From  an  old  paintine 

settled  amongst  us,  for  the  public  faith  is  concerned  in  it."  His 
career  was  cut  short  by  death  at  the  age  of  thirty-nine  from  con- 
sumption. He  left  three  children.  Springett.  William,  and  a 
daughter.  Tt  was  the  claim  of  Hannah  Penn,  the  first  Prc^prie- 
tary's  widow  and  executrix  of  his  will,  that  the  right  to  the  gov- 
ernment should  be  deemed  legally  converted  into  cash  and  there- 
fore personal  estate,  of  which  after  payment  of  the  debts  she  was 
legatee  for  her  and  her  cliildrcn's  benefit. 

3(^S 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

111  the  fall  of  1718,  Sassoonan,  king"  of  the  Delaware  liuliaiis. 
with  a  number  of  his  followers,  came  to  Philadelphia  with  the 
idea  that  they  had  not  been  i)aid  for  their  lands,  hnt  Loo-an  pro- 
duced to  them  in  the  presence  of  the  Council,  a  great  number  of 
deeds  by  which  they  were  convinced ;  accordingly.  Sassoonan 
and  six  chiefs  executed  a  release,  dated  September  17,  all  but  two 
making  their  marks  before  Lieutenant-Governor  Keith,  and  after- 
wards the  two  making  theirs  before  Logan.  Acknowledging  that 
their  ancestors  and  predecessors  had  conveyed  to  William  Penn 
in  fee  all  the  land,  and  had  received  the  price,  and  in  further  con- 
sideration of  a  free  gift  of  two  guns,  etc.,  from  his  commissioners, 
these  Indians  released  all  the  land  between  the  Delat\-are  and  the 
Susquehanna  from  Duck  creek  (in  Delaware)  to  the  mountains 
(the  South  mountain)  on  this  side  of  Lechay  (by  the  Lehigh 
river). 

Much  trouble  arising"  between  the  northern  and  southern  In- 
dians, involving,  moreover,  injuries  to  the  traders  among  them, 
the  authorities  of  Pennsylvania  endeavored  to  restrain  the  four 
tribes  between  the  colony  and  the  Alleghanies,  viz.  :  the  Susque- 
hannas,  Shawanees,  Conoys,  and  Delawares,  and  made  the  hard 
request  of  them  not  to  go  to  war  on  the  first  or  second  provocation 
of  their  people  being  killed,  but  only  after  the  third  provocation: 
and,  moreover,  told  them  not  to  receive  the  Five  Nations,  whose 
hal)itations  were  north  and  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  if  coming  to 
them  on  the  way  .to  or  from  war;  and  then  expatiated  upon  how 
shameful  a  thing  it  was  to  torture  prisoners — that  it  was  not 
manly  for  people  to  use  all  their  contrivance  of  torture  and  pain 
to  put  an  unfortunate  creature  of  their  own  shape  and  kind  to 
death,  whereas,  if  the  English  in  a  just  (  !)  war  killed  their  ene- 
mies, it  was  like  men  in  the  l)attle,  and.  if  they  took  prisoners, 
they  treated  them  kindly,  until  the  King  g-ave  orders  to  send  them 
l)ack  to  their  own  country  :  they  did  not  burn,  pinch,  or  slash  a  poor 
man  who  could  not  defend  himself,  and  the  Indians  must  stop 
doing   so.      The   Five    Nations,    howe\er,    generalh-    fi>rced    the 

366 


Claim  of  the   Heir-at-La\v 

voung  bucks  to  accompany  them  on  their  raids,  and  some  of  the 
Cayugas  asserted  that  all  the  land  on  the  Sus(|uehanna  belonged 
to  them  and  intimated  that  they  might  come  t(»  Philadelphia  and 
demand  possession.  To  meet  dej^uties  of  the  Five  Nations.  Keith 
went  to  Conestoga  in  the  summer  of  1721.  and  in  their  presence 
informed  their  tributaries,  the  Indians  east  of  the  Alleghanies.  of 
the  condition  he  had  made  for  the  latter  with  the  (iovernor  of  Vir- 
ginia. \'\7..  :  not  to  hunt  on  the  eastern  side  of  those  mountains 
south  of  the  Potomac  :  ujxm  which  terms  the  (jovernor  of  \'irginia 
had  agreed  that  his  Indians  should  n(,t  cniss  the  Potomac  or  the 
Alleghanies.  Keith  told  the  deputies  (»f  the  l'"i\e  Xations.  whose 
speaker  was  Ghesaont.  a  Seneca,  that  the  English  had  now.  l)y 
peace  among  themselves,  become  a  great  nation  in  America,  far 
exceeding  in  number  the  Indians,  who  were  contiiuiing  to  make 
war  upon  one  another,  as  if  they  intended  that  none  of  their  race 
should  be  left  alive;  if  the  Five  Xations  would  still  go  out  to  de- 
stroy and  be  destroyed  for  nothing,  let  them  take  another  path; 
the  Indians  of  Pennsylvania  would  not  be  allowed  to  go  out. 
Then  he  gave  Cihesaont  a  gold  coronation  medal  of  George  I.  to 
take  as  a  token  of  friendship  to  the  greatest  chief  of  the  Five  Xa- 
tions, Kannygoodk.  To  James  Logan,  who  continued  the  con- 
ference after  Keith  left,  Ghesaont  acknowledged  the  Susquehanna 
country  to  have  been  con\'eyed  to  William  Penn.  Owing  to  the 
kiling  of  a  Seneca,  who,  when  drunk  and  applying  for  rmu.  was 
knocked  down,  there  were  sent  calico  shirts,  silk  stockings,  silk 
garters.  and  silk  handkerchiefs  to  the  sachems  of  the  Fi\e  Xations. 
and  Keith,  with  foiu'  of  his  councillors,  went  to  Albany,  and  made 
a  treaty  of  ])eace,  in  September.  17,22,  the  h'ive  Xations  ackncnvl- 
edging  that  Penn's  Goxernors  and  people  had  always  honestl}' 
kept  his  treaties  of  lo\e  and  kindness,  and  finally  asking  that 
those  concerned  in  the  death  of  tiie  Seneca  be  set  at  liberty,  and. 
moreover,  surrendering  the  lands  about  Conestoga,  desiring  them 
to  be  settled  bv  Christians.  At  the  same  time.  Governor  Spots- 
wood,  of  \'irginia.  made  a  treatw  and  secin-ed  the  assent  of  the 

367 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

Five  Nations  and  the  Tnscaroras  to  the  proposed  l)oundar}-  within 
which  the  A^irginia  ln(hans  slionld  he  sate.  Any  of  the  h'ive  Na- 
tions, or  any  Tuscarora.  Conestog'a,  Sliawanee,  Octatignanann- 
kroon,  or  Ostagle  ])assing  without  a  passport  from  tlie  (iovernor 
of  his  province  soutliward  of  the  Potomac,  /.  c,  its  southern 
iM-anch,  or  eastward  oi  the  mountains,  should  be  put  to  death  or 
transported  into  slavery. 

During  Keith's  administration  the  Scotch- Irish  and  the  Ger- 
mans began  to  pour  into  Pennsylvania.  The  former,  whose  his- 
tory is  given  in  Hanna's  work  on  the  subject,  first  settled  in  the 
southern  part  of  what  was  tlien  Chester  county,  which  the  boun- 
dary dispute  made  no  man's  land,  and  which  was  so  near  the  port 
of  New  Castle;  then  they  advanced  to  the  regions  marked  by  the 
oldest  Presbyterian  churches  south  of  the  Schuylkill.  The  first 
company  of  Germans  were  invited  by  Keith  to  come  from  /Esopus, 
in  New  York  State,  and  establish  themselves  at  Tulpehocken.  In 
Gordon's  time  others,  including  Conrad  Weiser,  made  the  same 
migration. 

In  the  difficult  position  of  choosing  between  two  masters,  viz.  : 
the  Proprietary,  represented  chiefly  by  Logan,  and  the  people,  rep- 
resented by  the  Assembly,  Keith  determined  to  serve  the  latter,  the 
powder  which  voted  the  money  for  his  support ;  therefore  he  was 
better  paid  than  his  predecessors,  and  succeeded,  where  they  had 
failed,  in  establishing  a  Court  of  Chancery,  held  by  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  and  the  six  senior  councillors.  This  was  the  only  sepa- 
rate court  of  chancery  which  Pennsyhania  has  ever  had.  Two 
important  laws  enacted  by  him  survive,  that  of  the  party  wall  and 
that  of  the  feme  sole  trader.  The  rate  of  interest  f)n  money  w^as 
reduced  from  8  to  6  per  cent.  In  1723  the  first  paper  money  w-as 
issued  in  Pennsylvania,  and  purely  as  an  expansion  of  the  cur- 
rency demanded  by  the  populace  in  the  face  of  the  few  rich  men. 
The  method  of  emission  was  a  novel  one.  often  sul3sec[uently  re- 
sorted to.  The  bills,  made  legal  tender,  were  issued  to  applicants 
as  a  loan  upon  mortgage  of  their  real  estate,  to  be  repaid  in  annual 

368 


Claim  of  the   Heir-at-Law 

instalments,  with  5  ])cr  cent,  interest.  Certain  i)ersi)ns  apjxjinted  in 
the  act  passed  1)\-  the  .\sseml)ly.  and  styled  Commissioners  of  the 
Loan  Oflice,  attended  to  this,  lending  not  more  than  200/.,  nor  less 
than  20/.  The  interest  was  applicable  to  the  exi)enses  of  govern- 
ment. Although  the  c\])erience  of  other  colonies  with  paper 
monc}-  had  ])cen  unhapp_\-.  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  Trade  and 
IMantatioiis.  nut   <ii'  consideratir)n   for  those  hi)ldini>"  the  hills,  al- 


Rcliivs    fnmi    Dunbar's    Camp,    1775 

Engraved    for   this    work    from    the   originals   in 
Carnegie   Museum.    I'ittsbiirgli 

lowed  the  act  and  one  siil)se<iuentl}-  passed  for  issuing  30.000/. 
to  remain  unrepealed  by  the  King.  When  Sir  William  Keith's 
administration  closed  the  colony  was  in  a  nourishing  condition, 
and  the  discount  on  the  hills  diminishing.  I-"or  iwentv  \-ears  after- 
wards the  expenses  of  gox'ernment  re(|uired  no  direct  tax.  tlie 
interest  on  the  mortgages  and  an  excise  l)eing  sutticient. 

Charging  l>ogan  with  an  unauthorized  entr\-  upon  his  min- 
utes as  secretary  of  the  Council.  Keith  remoxed  Logan  fmm  that 
(jfficc.  Logan  was  ma\or  of  lMiila(lel])hia  in  1723.  and  at  the  close 
of  his  term,  went  al)road  to  consult  with  Hannah  Penn.  and.  sug- 
gesting to  tie  Keith's  hands  rather  than  remove  him.  obtained 
instrtictions  from  her  to  Keith  to  reinstate  Lngan  as  secretar\-. 


I— _'4 


369 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

and.  as  has  l)een  said,  "to  lie  ruled  l)y  him."  The  Lieiitenant-Ciov- 
ernor  was  to  obey  the  Council  in  his  messages  and  speeches  to  the 
Assembly  and  in  his  legislative  acts.  Highly  indignant,  and  feel- 
ing safe  in  his  tenure  of  office — because,  at  that  time,  no  branch  of 
the  family  could  confer  on  a  new  Lieutenant-Cjovernor  an  undis- 
puted commission — Keith  refused  to  be  trammelled.  He  sent 
Hannah  Penn  a  reply,  reminding  her  how  the  Council,  in  Evans's 
time,  had  unanimously  decided  that  a  clause  in  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor's  commission,  forbidding  him  to  pass  any  law  without 
the  consent  of  the  Proprietary,  was  void,  the  charter  vesting  leg- 
islation in  the  acting  Governor  and  Assembly:  if.  therefore,  the 
Proprietary  could  not  exercise  control  directly,  he  could  not  do  so 
by  means  of  a  Council  not  recognized  by  the  fundamental  law. 
Keith  also  contended  that  he  had  a  right  to  appoint  a  clerk  of  his 
Council  in  whom  he  had  confidence,  and  he  declined  to  reappoint 
Logan.  More  than  this,  Keith,  to  make  a  party  for  himself,  vio- 
lated his  confidential  relations  with  the  Penns  by  communicating 
to  the  Assembly  both  the  instructions  and  his  reasons  for  disre- 
garding them.  He  received  the  thanks  of  the  House,  David 
Lloyd  appearing  as  his  strong  supporter;  and  there  followed  a 
pamphlet,  or  broadside,  war  concerning  the  Assembly's  powers ; 
meanwhile,  the  Penns  abroad  resolved  upon  Keith's  removal.  For 
a  time.  Keith  seemed  able  to  have  wrested  the  government  from 
them ;  but  as  rumors  reached  the  coIoua-  of  the  appointment  of  a 
successor,  the  Assembly  deserted  him. 

William  Penn  Jr.  having  died  in  1720,  his  heir  was  his  son, 
Springett  Penn. 

Patrick  Gordon,  major  in  the  army,  then  in  the  62d  vear  of  his 
age,  arrived  in  Jime,  1726,  with  a  C(^mmission  from  Springett 
Penn,  in  which  Hannah  Penn  concurred,  and  which  the  Crown 
confirmed.  Pursuant  to  instructions,  Gordon  in  a  few  days  re- 
stored Logan  to  the  secretaryship.  Keith,  who  had  a  country 
seat  in  Horsham  township  (now  in  Montgomery  county),  then  in 
Philadelphia   county,    which   was   afterwards   known   as   Gr?eme 


Claim  of  the  Heir-at-La\v 

Park,  was  chosen  :i  member  of  the  Assembly  that  fah,  and  can- 
vassed for  the  speakership,  but  David  Lk^yd  aHowed  himself  to 
be  the  candidate  of  Keith's  enemies,  and  was  elected,  Sir  William 
getting  only  three  votes.  Sir  William  was  reelected  to  the  Assem- 
bly in  1727.  but  before  his  term  was  out,  after  much  talk  atout 
the  abolitif)n  of  all  proprietary  governments,  ami  boldly  declar- 
ing it  his  object  t(^  force  the  Penn  family  to  sell  the  government  to 
the  Crown,  w  hence  he  expected  to  be  reappointed,  he  suddenly  left 
the  colony  to  avoid  his  private  creditors.  He  passed  the  rest  of 
his  life  in  Great  Britain,  some  of  it  in  the  debtor's  prison,  wrote 
many  essavs,  and  suggested  the  imposition  on  Americans  of  stamp 
duties  by  act  of  parliament,  to  provide  a  military  force  for  the 
defense  of  the  colonies.  As  a  means  of  livelihood,  he  designed 
writing  a  historv  of  the  various  colonies, but  pul)lished  one  of  Vw- 
ginia  only.  He  died  in  the  Old  P)ailey  in  1749.  His  wife,  in  con- 
siderable want,  (lied  in  Philadelphia  in  1741,  and  was  buried  in 
Christ  Church  _\ard. 

At  the  accession  of  Ciordon,  who  served  until  his  death,  there 
was  a  flourishing  injn  industry,  great  quantities  of  hemp  were 
grown,  and  silk  w  as  raised  ''as  fine  and  good."  he  was  credibly  in- 
formed, "as  most  of  the  world  affords."  To  that  means  of  employ- 
ing "even  the  mean  and  weak"  he  urged  the  representatives  of  the 
])eople,  about  three  years  later,  when,  from  competition  by  the 
cheaper  labor  of  Russia,  the  English  market  for  American  iron  was 
impaired.  In  1729  the  exchange  between  the  paper  money  of  the 
province  and  sterling  was  about  50  per  cent.  The  Assembly,  in 
addressing  the  Proprietaries,  agreed  unanimously  to  declare  that 
as  the  (|uit  rents  were  to  be  paid  in  English  money  or  the  value 
thereof  in  coin  currc-nt.  it  must  always  be  understood  that  an  Eng- 
lish shilling,  the  ciMunvn  (|uit  rent  for  100  acres,  could  nuly  be 
discharged  bv  such  a  shilling  or  its  real  value  in  the  coin  then 
])assing.  L'nder  this  straightforward  and  respectable  official,  pol- 
itics became  tran(|ui!.  lie  agreed  to  more  than  one  act  to  issue 
paper  money,  some  of  which  was  ai:)j)lied  to  the  building  of  the 

37  > 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

State  House  in  lMiiIa(lel])liia,  linislied  alxmt  1734.  larL^'eK'  under 
tlie  (lireetion  of  Andrew  1  lauiiltou,  meml)er  and  \()u<^  S])eaker  of 
tlie  Assembly  and  Attorney-Cjeneral.  Hamilton's  design  was 
adopted  in  ])refereuee  to-  that  of  Dr.  John  Kearslev.  who  was 
instrumental  in  tlie  huildiuo-  of  Christ  Chureh,  started  some  years 
before.  Hamilton,  who  is  not  known  to  liave  been  a  relation  or 
connection,  but  only  a  friend,  of  the  former  Lieutenant-Governor 
of  the  same  name,  was  the  great  lawyer  of  the  province  at  this 
time,  and  was  long  celebrated  for  his  defense  of  the  lilierty  of  the 
press  in  the  person  of  the  printer  Zenger,  tried  for  libel  in  New 
York  in  1735.  Gordon  also  agreed  to  an  act  for  the  purpose,  long 
contended  for,  of  enabling  religious  societies  of  Protestants  to 
purchase  land  for  Ijurying  grounds,  churches,  houses  of  worship, 
schools,  etc.,  which  confirmed  the  trusts  for  such  religious  socie- 
ties as  should,  on  June  i,  1730,  have  been  in  ])ossession  for  twen- 
ty-one years.  At  his  suggestion  Ferdinand  John  Paris  was  ap- 
pointed the  province's  agent  in  London,  chiefly  for  securing  the 
King's  allowance  of  the  la\ys. 

About  1729  a  large  number  of  the  Shawanees  left  their  settle- 
ment on  the  west  side  of  the  Susquehanna,  near  Paxtang,  or  Pax- 
ton,  and  moved  to  the  .-Mlegheny,  then  called  the  Ohio,  where  they 
had  more  room  to  rove,  but  where,  unhapi)il}-,  they  were  accessible 
to  the  French. 

Lancaster  county  was  set  apart  from  Chester  in  1729.  and  per- 
mitted to  elect  four  members  of  the  Assembly.  '  Richard  Hill  died 
in  1730,  and  David  Lloyd,  after  being  Chief  Justice  a  number  of 
years,  in  1731.  For  some  years  afterwards  there  was  no  lawyer 
on  the  supreme  bench.  Isaac  Norris  declining  the  chief  justice- 
ship, Logan  held  it  from  Lloyd's  death  until  1739,  although 
between  Lieutenant-Ciox-ernor  Gordon's  death  and  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Thomas's  arrival,  the  second  and  third  justices,  Jere- 
miah Langhorne  and  Dr.  Thomas  (xrieme,  held  the  sessions. 

In  Gordon's  time  the  Penn  family  adjusted  the  differences 
l)etween  the  branches,      ^'oung  Dennis  Penn  ha\ing  died  at  the 


Claim  of  the   Heir-at-La\v 

close  of  1722.  1  l.'innali  rcnn  made  another  deed  of  appointment 
January  7.  1725.  g"i\ing-  500  acres,  in  addition  to  some  charges  on 
John's  share,  to  her  daughter  Margaret,  antl  one-half  of  the  pro- 
prietary rights  to  John  in  fee,  and  the  other  half  to  Thomas  and 
Richard  jointly  in  fee.  The  widow  of  the  first  Proprietary  died 
on  Decemher  20  following  the  commissioning  of  (iordon.  In 
July  of  the  next  \car  a  decree  was  ohtained  in  the  Court  of  Ex- 
chequer contirming  William  I'cnn's  will.  The  mortgage  of  1708 
was  gradnalh'  ])aid  off;  1)\  .\])ril.  1724,  only  one-fourth  remained 
due;  on  January  14.  1729.  it  was  finally  released,  as  paid  in 
full.  Springett  rcnn  died  February  8,  173 1.  leaving  as  his  heir 
his  brother  William,  the  ancestor  of  the  Penn-Gaskell  and  Hall 
families  now  (  1903)  extant.  This  William,  with  his  mother  and 
sister  and  aunt,  uniting  the  entire  claim  of  the  descendants  of  the 
first  Proprietary  by  his  first  wife,  granted  and  released  in  fee  the 
soil,  except  particular  properties,  and  the  government  to  Jcjhn 
Penn,  Thomas  Penn,  and  Richard  Penn.  John  taking  one-half, 
according  to  his  mother's  appointment.  Thomas  taking  one- fourth, 
.'uid  John  and  ^Idiomas  taking  Richard's  one- fourth  in  trust  for 
him.  The  release  was  dated  September  23,  1731,  and  the  con- 
sideration to  William  was  £5.500.  and  h'arl  Powlett.  sur\i\ing 
trustee  to  sell  the  government,  was  directed  to  convey  his  legal 
title  to  the  new  Proprietaries.  The  cloud  on  the  title  was  removed 
b}'  a  deed  of  the  earl's  son  and  successor  in  1743. 


373 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  TIME  OF  JOHN  PENN  "THE  A^IERICAN" 

JOHN  PENN_,  the  eldest  son  of  the  founder  of  Pennsylvania 
by  his  second  wife,  Hannah  Callowhill,  has  been  called  "the 
American."  because  he  alone  of  all  the  Penn  family,  except 
possibly  some  child  of  his  nephew  Richard,  was  born  in  the  New 
World.  He  was  born  in  the  "slate-roof  house"  in  Second  street 
(covered  by  the  present  Corn  Exchange),  Philadelphia,  on  Jan.  29, 
1699-1700.  For  fifteen  years,  counting  from  the  release  executed 
by  his  step-nephew,  he  was  recognized  as  the  head  of  the  Govern- 
ors-in-chief of  Pennsylvania,  being  older  than  his  colleagues, 
Thomas  and  Richard,  and  having  twice  as  much  interest  as  either 
of  them  in  the  property.  Before  the  more  active  brother,  Thomas 
Penn,  made  his  visit  to  Pennsylvania,  an  agreement  was  entered 
into  by  the  three  Proprietaries  to  preserve  the  estate  to  their  heirs 
male.  They  covenanted,  by  articles  dated  May  8,  1732,  that  on 
the  death  of  any  one  of  them  leaving  male  issue  under  age,  the 
survivors  could  sell  land  during  the  minority,  and  that  none  of  the 
three  would  dispose  of  his  share,  .except  to  create  charges  upon  it, 
otherwise  than  to  his  eldest  son  in  tail  male,  with  remainder  to  his 
other  sons  successively  in  order  of  birth  in  tail  male,  and  if  any  of 
the  three  should  die  without  male  issue,  his  estate,  subject  to 
charges,  should  go  to  the  survivors,  as  he  might  appoint.  At  this 
time  only  Richard  w^as  married,  his  wnfe  being  Hannah,  daughter 
of  John  Lardner,  a  physician ;  and  only  one  son  had  yet  appeared 
to  gratify  the  desire  for  establishing  a  family.     In  less  than  fifty 

374 


John   Pcnn   the  American 

vears  the  lordship  over  Pennsyhania  was  gone;  and  the  name  (hed 
out  with  the  last  hreath  of  a  lunatic  clergyman  in  1869. 

Thomas  Penn  arrived  at  Chester.  Pa.,  on  August  1 1.  1732,  and 
the  next  day  Gordon  and  all  his  councillors  who  could  stand  the 
trip,  and  a  large  numher  of  gentlemen,  went  down  io  meet  him. 
After  dinner  they  escorted  him  to  Philadelphia,  the  members 
of  the  city  corporation  meeting  him  with  a  cijngratulatory  speech 
by  the  recorder.  Thomas  Penn  brought  from  England  six  japanned 
rnid  gilt  guns  for  the  respective  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations,  pre- 
senting them  at  a  treaty  held  in  the  month  he  arrived,  when  theSix 
Nations  were  asked  to  take  the  Shawanees  under  their  protection, 
and  induce  them  to  return  from  the  Ohio.  He  gave  another  gim 
to  the  Shawanee  chief,  who  came  to  renew  friendship  in  October, 
but  announced  that  those  on  the  Ohio  would  stay  where  they  were. 
Thomas  Penn  took  ))recedence  at  the  council  board  o\or  the  Lieu- 
tenant-C/overnor,  Imt  left  the  administration  of  the  government  to 
the  latter,  concerning  himself  chieHy  with  the  care  of  proi)ert}'. 
including  Indian  aft'airs.  In  the  course  of  time  he  established  him- 
self in  a  manor  house  on  what  was  left  of  the  old  maniM"  of  Spring- 
ettsbury  in  the  Northern  Liberties  of  Philadelphia.  In  1734  John 
Penn  came  to  the  country  of  his  birth,  but  remained  only  a  year, 
and  the  Assembly  made  him  an  address,  September  20.  1735.  in 
anticipation  of  his  departure,  saying:  "That  humility,  justice, 
and  benevolence  which  has  appeared  in  thy  conduct  since  thy  arri- 
val here  has  very  deservedly  gained  thee  the  esteem  and  affection 
of  the  people." 

Pennsylvania  began  to  be  the  held  for  missionary  labors  like 
Whitefield's,  and  the  scene  of  various  religious  movements  like  that 
of  the  New  Side  among  Presbyterians,  etc.  The  Schwenkfelders 
arrived  in  Philadelphia  from  Bethelsdorf  and  (locrlitz  in  the  fall 
of  1734,  settling  in  Bucks  and  Philadeljihia  counties.  With  them 
was  the  hrst  Moravian  evangelist  who  came  to  America,  (ieorge 
Bohnisch.  sent  1)\-  Count  Ludwig  Zinzendorf.  who  himself,  after 
several  colonists  belonging  to  that  Unitas  had  arri\cd.  si)cnt  a 

375 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

short  time  here  in  1742  and   1743.      I'he  settlement  of  Bethlehem 
was  begun  in  1742. 

During"  (iordon's  time  only  two  cases,  and  those  bv  consent 
of  the  parties,  had  been  In'onght  to  a  decree  before  the  Court  o^' 
Chancery,  but  in  1735  the  peo])le,  at  the  instigation  it  was  said  of 
Hamilton,  were  stirred  u])  against  it.  as  recjuiring  heavy  fees  and 
attendance  of  persons  in  IMiiladelphia.  and  as  making  the  Proprie- 
taries" deputy  and  friends  in  the  Council  possible  judges  of  cases 
in  which  the  Proprietaries  might  be  a  party:  whereas. the  charter 
of  1 70 1  had  stipulated  that  no  person  should  be  obliged  to  answer 
in  any  matter  relating  to  property  before  the  (iovernor  and  Coun- 
cil, or  in  any  other  place*  but  in  the  ordinary  courts  of  justice,  un- 
less appeals  thereunto  should  be  appointed  by  law.  So  the  As- 
sembly, during  that  winter,  resolved  that  the  court  as  then  con- 
stituted was  contrary  to  the  charter.  During  an  adjournment, 
leaving  a  bill  for  a  court  of  equity  undisposed  of,  Patrick  Gordon 
died,  August  5.  1736,  and  was  Imried  the  next  day  in  Christ 
Church,  near  his  wife,  who  had  died  less  than  two  years  before. 

The  Council  succeeded  to  the  Lieutenant-Governor's  powers, 
except  those  of  legislation.  Logan,  on  account  of  his  lameness  and 
residence  out  of  town  at  Stenton  (  Twenty-second  \Vard.  Philadel- 
phia), offering  to  decline  his  share  as  eldest  councillor  if  the  other 
members  should  think  of  some  one  of  themselves  more  proper, 
Ijut  they  re(|uested  that  he  would  act  as  President.  In  October, 
1736,  a  larger  number  of  Indians  than  had  e\'er  before  appeared 
at  a  treaty — Senecas.  Onondagas.  Cayugas.  Oneidas.  and  Tusca- 
roras — after  being  entertained  three  nights  at  Stenton.  held  a 
treaty  in  the  great  meeting  house  at  Fifth  and  Arch  streets,  with 
Thomas  Penn  and  the  Council,  and  reported  that  they  had  made 
alliance  with  six  other  nations,  who  now  acknowledged  them  as 
elder  brothers.  Then  a  sale  was  made  to  the  Pro]:)rietaries  of  all 
right  to  the  land  emliraced  in  the  present  counties  of  ^'ork.  Adams, 
and  Cumberland,  and  in  that  part  of  Franklin,  Dauphin,  and  Leba- 
non southeast  of  the  Kittatinn\',  or  P)lue.  Mountains,  and  in  that 


John   Penn  the  American 

])art  of  Berks.  Lehigh,  and  XorthaniptDn  not  ah-eady  possessed. 
The  goods  which  served  as  a  consideration  for  so  much  of  the  pur- 
chase as  lay  east  of  the  Susquehanna  were  dehxered  at  the  time, 
but  those  for  the  land  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  were  retained 
at  tlie  Indians'  desire,  and  were  finally  delivered  in  1742.  This 
purchase  as  to  the  lands  of  the  Delawares  and  other  tributaries  of 
the  Six  Xatif)ns  was  rather  in  the  nature  of  the  release  of  a  feudal 


Ralston  or  Rrown  Fort,  Northampton  County 

liuilt   about    1755.      From    a    sketch    made    espe- 
cially for  this  work 

lordship,  concomitant  with  die  buying  out  of  the  vassal's  interest. 
Although  the  Six  Nations  said  the  Delawares  had  no  lands  to  sell. 
the  Trojirietaries  depended  for  f|uiet  enjoyment  upon  the  old  deeds 
from  these  earlier  owners.  Among  them.  api)arently,  was  one 
made  in  1686.  of  which  Tliomas  I'enn  had  i^wud  a  copy  calling 
for  a  dimension  "as  far  as  a  man  can  go  in  a  day  and  a  half"  and 
thence  to  the  river  and  down  ilie  courses  thereof.  In  anticipa- 
tion of  completing  the  lines,  tlie  Proprietaries'  agents  hunted  out 
the  fastest  woodsmen,  to  make  the  day  and  a  half's  journey,  and 
had  them  as  a  preliminary  taken  over  the  ground,  spending  nine 

377 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

(lays  while  the  trees  were  (hil_\-  l)1aze(l.  Some  Indians  did  not 
wish  the  line  measnred.  lint  ntliers  had  a  treat}'  with  Thomas 
Penn  on  Angnst  25.  1737,  and  agreed  that  it  should  l)e  by  a 
walk,  for  which,  as  we  see,,  he  was  prepared.  On  September  12, 
in  ])resence  of  some  huhans  and  some  whites  on  horseback,  three 
}-onng  men  started  at  sunrise  from  the  line  near  the  Wrig'htstown 
Meeting  House  in  Bucks  County  to  walk  northwestwardly,  and 
proceeded  at  such  a  pace  that  one  ga\e  out  in  a  few  hours,  never 
afterwards  recovering  his  health.  The  other  two  by  nightfall 
reached  the  north  side  of  the  Blue  Alountains.  At  sunrise  the\- 
resumed.  One  of  them  fell  into  a  creek,  Avas  taken  up  l)lind,  and 
died  in  three  days.  The  last  at  noon  threw-  himself  at  full  length 
on  the  ground  and  grasped  a  sapling,  which  was  then  declared  to 
mark  the  distance  called  for  by  the  purchase,  \'iz.  :  how  far  a  man 
could  go  in  a  day  and  a  half.  Yet  Scull,  the  surveyor-general  in 
1757,  swore  that  he,  with  Eastburn,  the  surveyor-general  at  the 
time,  was  present,  and  the  men  did  not  run.  but  walked  fairly. 
Those  who  defended  the  transaction  rather  scoffed  at  the  notion 
of  the  Indians  that  the  journey  was  to  be  made  naturally,  taking 
a  shot  at  game,  or  sitting  down  to  smoke  a  pipe.  Let  the  reader 
say  whether  sixty  miles  is  the  distance  a  man  can  go  on  foot  in  a 
day  and  a  half?  That  one  man  out  of  three  did  it,  and  lived, 
was  the  evidence  for  the  side  of  a  triangle  of  which  the  northern 
point  was  between  the  present  towns  of  Milford  and  Shohola  in 
Pike  county.  Other  objections  were  made  by  the  Indians  in 
1757,  ^'iz.  :  that  the  original  deed  was  fictitious,  that  the  w-alk 
should  have  been  along  the  Delaware  river,  and  that,  even  if  the 
walk  was  in  the  right  direction,  and  not  too  long,  then  the  line 
from  it  should  not  have  been  at  right  angles  to  it,  but  to  the  near- 
est point  of  the  river.  These  objections,  however,  w-ere  held  to  be 
groundless,  but  there  seems  to  have  been  another,  which  probably 
was  sufficient  to  reprobate  this  long  notorious  'A\^alking  Pur- 
chase;" the  chiefs  who  could  dispose  of  a  reasonable  distance 
around  \\Tightstown  had  no  ownership  across  the  Lehigh. 

378 


John    Pcnn  the  American 

Pcrliajjs  it  would  have  ])een  lietter  for  the  United  States  of 
America  if  Lord  Baltimore's  largest  claim  liad  l)een  acceded  to 
by  the  Crown  of  England;  in  other  words  if.  instead  of  the  small 
strip  now  called  Delaware  being  independent  of  the  circumscribed 
region  tinally  allowed  to  Maryland,  there  had  been  one  large  col- 
ony, eventually  a  state,  extending  from  Virginia  to  the  40th  par- 
allel of  latitude  and  from  Delaware  bay  and  river  to  the  longi- 
tude of  the  head  of  the  Potomac.  In  the  Colonial  and  Revolu- 
tionary period,  Delaware  afforded  another  set  of  offices  for  Penn- 
sylvania's pul)lic  men;  afterwards  it  was  in  political  sympathy 
with  Maryland.  On  American  principles,  neither  of  the  adjoin- 
ing States  should  have  had  the  additional  votes  in  the  United 
States  Senate.  Had  the  40th  parallel -been  Pennsylvania's  south- 
ern boundary,  and  so  the  greater  part  of  the  land  covered  by 
Philidelphia  county,  nearly  all  that  of  Delaware,  and  half  that  of 
the  counties  of  Chester,  Lancaster  and  York,  etc.,  been  given  to 
Maryland ;  yes,  and  even  at  the  same  time  had  the  claim  of  Con- 
necticut over  the  region  north  of  the  41st  parallel  been  allowed, 
there  still  would  have  been  sufficient  land  for  the  descendants  of 
Admiral  Penn  to  satisfy  his  pecuniary  claim  against  the  British 
government,  and  as  a  reward  for  his  na\al  \ictories,  and  the  more 
hemmed  in  the  Quaker  colony,  and  the  stronger  that  of  Maryland, 
the  less  would  the  non-resistant  population  of  the  former  have 
been  harassed  to  take  measures  for  defence.  But  Philadelphia 
would  have  been  where  Pennsl)ury  was.  Charles  IT  and  his 
l)rother  James  Ijelieved  that  the  grant  by  "the  Royal  Martyr," 
their  father,  to  Cecilius  Calvert,  had  not  operated  upon  that  coun- 
try which  the  Dutch  were  occupying  when  they  surrendered  New 
York  and  its  deiiendencies ;  and  this  was  the  impc^rtant  cjuestion 
in  the  mind  of  every  Lord  Baltimore,  for.  while  it  left  him  a  con- 
tention as  to  how  far  south  that  occupation  extended,  yet,  if  the 
view  of  these  monarchs  was  correct,  there  was  no  room  for  him 
on  the  Delaware  river.  As  to  the  back  country,  James  II  gave 
him  "to  the  40th  degree,"  making  an  order  in  Council  Xov.  13, 

379 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

1685.  upon  rci)()i't  to  that  cttect  of  the  Lords  of  Committee  for 
Trade  and  Plantations,  that  the  Peninsula  hetwccn  Delaware  and 
Chesapeake  Bay  be  divided  e(|ually  by  a  line  extending  north- 
wardly to  the  40th  degree,  and  all  west  of  it  be  adjudged  to  Lord 
Baltimore,  and  all  east  of  it  to  the  King.  Penn  having  appeared 
before  the  Council  as  the  King's  agent,  it  was  claimed  afterwards 


George  Croghan 

Indian  trader;  settled  near  the  site  of  Harris- 
burg  as  early  as  1746;  captain  in  liraddock's 
expedition  1755;  settled  near  Pittsburgh  after 
the  French  evacuation;  became  a  large  land 
owner,  and  subsequently  took  a  prominent 
part  in  public  affairs.  Photographed  especially 
for  this  work  from  a  print  in  posession  of  Dr. 
W.   J.    Holland 

that  James's  intention  was  to  take  the  land  east  of  the  line  in  trust 
for  the  confirmation  of  his  deeds  when  Duke  of  York  to  Penn ; 
lait  no  patent  followed.  The  Proprietary  of  Pennsylvania,  with 
no  muniment  of  title  to  the  Lower  Counties  except  the  deeds  of 
1682.  conveying  the  Duke  of  York's  rights,  royalty,  etc.,  along 
with  the  soil  thereof,  was  recognized  by  William  and  Mary  as 
having  the  government  of  those  territories  as  well  as  of  the 
Province  u|)  the  ri\'er;  ])ut  Lord  P>altimore  several  times  tried  to 
have  the  order  of  1685  rescinded,  and  e\ery  time  the  Proprietary 
of  Pennsylvania  ap])lie(l  for  the  confirmati(»n  of  his  appointment 

380 


John   Penn   the  American 

of  a  Lieutenaiit-(i()\ernnr,  a  declaration  was  made  that  such  con- 
firmation as  to  tlic  'J'erritnries.  nr  Lower  Counties,  should  not  he 
construed  as  estahlishing-  any  rig-lit  thereto  in  the  applicant,  and 
the  order  of  a])pro\-al  was  often  made  to  read  "and  of  said  three 
Counties  of  Xew  Castle,  Kent  and  Sussex  during  His  ^hljesty's 
royal  will  and  pleasure  only."  After  Gordon  was  approved  of. 
Lord  Baltimore  on  one  side  and  the  Earl  of  Sunderland  on  .the 
other,  made  application  for  a  royal  grant  of  the  government.  The 
terms  of  the  decree  of  1685  recognized  Penn's  title  to  the  S(  il 
at  least  of  the  Lower  Counties,  and  to  the  soil  and  government  of 
what  is  now  Delaware  county  and  the  lower  ])art  of  Philadelphia 
county.  As  to  the  hack  country,  if  the  line  of  the  ^Mandand 
patent  ran  to  the  40th  parallel  of  latitude,  the  nt)i-theastern  cor- 
ner of  that  colony  and  state  would  have  heen  fixed  hy  accurate 
mathematicians  at  a  point  northeast  of  the  present  Coatesville,  so 
that  York,  Hanover,  Gettyshurg,  Chamhershurg,  McConnells- 
hurg,  etc.,  would  never  have  heen  Pennsylvania  towns.  But  con- 
trary to  what  we  would  suppose,  the  expression  "the  fortieth  de- 
gree" appears  to  have  meant  the  heginning  of  that  degree,  in 
other  words,  the  39th  parallel.  luidently  the  ofincials  of  King 
Charles  IL  so  understood  it,  for  they  i^assed  the  charter  to  Penn 
calling  for  the  heginning  of  the  40th  degree  as  his  southern 
boundary,  meaning  tliat  that  was  the  northern  boundary  of  Mary- 
land. .So  when  Penn  received  also  his  feoffment  from  the  Duke  of 
\'ork  he  had  a  title  to  the  northern  part  of  Delaware  with  the  pres- 
ent Maryland  counties  of  Cecil,  Harford,  etc..  while  Lord  Balti- 
more's charter  included  Lewes  and  the  adjoining  country  as  far 
up  as  a  few  miles  abo\e  the  mouth  of  Mispillion  Creek.  \  et 
it  will  be  seen  on  a  modern  map  that  the  39th  i)arallel.  which  runs 
about  three  miles  north  of  Annapolis,  would  have  cut  off  Mary- 
land from  any  land  at  the  headwaters  of  the  Potomac.  The  third 
Lord  FjaltiiiK^re  ran  a  line  from  the  Susquehanna  at  the  mouth  of 
Octoraro  Creek  in  rather  a  northeasterly  direction  towards  the 
Delaware;  but  about  the  time  of  William   Tcnn's  death.  Marv- 

3«> 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

landers,  with  the  40th  parallel  in  mind.  Ijeg'an  creeping-  np  the 
west  side  of  the  ri\'er;  and  in  1 7-2<)  Thomas  Cresap  established 
himself  at  Ccniejohela  on  land  from  which  two  years  before  the 
settlers  under  Pennsylvania  had  Ijeen  withdrawn  at  the  request 
of  the  Conestoga  Indians.  The  exact  location  of  the  40th  ])ar- 
allel.  like  every  other  cjuestion  of  Ijoundary,  was  so  imcertain  that 
he  and  his  companions  could  claim  alternate  allegiance,  as  the  au- 
thorit}-  of  either  Pro\ince  was  about  to  be  exercised  o\er  them; 
so  they  burned  Indian  cabins,  destroyed  the  Indians'  goods  and 
took  away  their  guns,  and  killed  the  horses  of  the  traders.  On 
Alay  10.  1732,  Charles,  fifth  Lord  Baltimore,  executed  an  agree- 
ment with  John,  Thomas,  and  Richard  Penn,  joining  William 
Penn  the  heir-at-law.  that  the  boundary  line  should  be  run  by 
commissioners  from  each  side  as  follows:  starting  from  the  mid- 
dle point  of  a  line  due  west  from  Cape  Henlopen  to  Chesapeake 
bay.  the  line  should  run  imtil  as  a  tangent  it  touched  the  peri- 
phery of  a  circle  drawn  at  tw^elve  miles  distance  from  New  Castle, 
thence  due  north  until  it  came  to  the  latitude  of  fifteen  miles  due 
south  of  the  southernmost  point  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  i.  e., 
of  the  point  where  the  southerl}-  line  of  South  street  strikes  the 
river  Delaware,  and  from  the  jimction  of  that  line  and  that  lati- 
tude, as  the  northeast  corner  of  Maryland,  a  line  should  be  run  due 
west  to  the  extent  of  Pennsylvania,  but  for  the  present  25  miles 
west  of  the  Susquehanna  should  suffice.  Baltimore's  commis- 
sioners interposed  everv  pretence  to  prevent  the  running  of  the 
line  according  to  its  plain  meaning,  and  yet  to  relieve  him  from 
paying  the  £5,000  stipulated  in  the  agreement  to  be  forfeited  by 
the  party  failing  to  carry  it  out.  Lord  Baltimore  alleged  that 
after  arriving  in  Maryland  in  November,  1732,  after  the  joint 
commissioners  had  begun  their  fruitless  parleys,  he  found  out 
that  he  had  been  deceived  by  false  maps  into  an  agreement  which 
was  wholly  one-sided,  in  which,  finally  surrendering  New  Castle. 
Kent,  and  Sussex,  he  had  agreed  to  a  limit  on  the  north  which 
took  from  him  about  2.;oo,ooo  acres  south  of  the  40th  parallel. 

382 


John   Penn  the  American 

Ihe  joint  cnmniissioners  adjourned  sine  die  Xo\\  24.  1733.  the 
Maryland  commissioners  adhering  to  their  contention  that  the 
circle  around  Xew  Castle  must  he  twehe  miles  in  circumference, 
instead  of  in  radius.  ludtimore  went  hack  to  England,  and  on 
Aug.  8.  1734.  while  John  Penn  was  on  his  way  to  America,  peti- 
tioned the  King  for  a  confirmation  of  title  to  so  much  of  the 
peninsula  as  was  emhraced  in  the  hounds  in  Cecilius  Calvert's  pat- 
ent, notwithstanding  the  clause  "hactenus  inculta"  in  the  pre- 
amble thereto.  The  Lords  of  Trade,  to  whom  the  petition  was 
referred  on  its  ]:)resentation.  reported  in  the  following  January 
that  the  Lower  Counties  were  included  within  the  limits  of  Cal- 
^•ert's  patent,  and  that  the  clause  "hactenus  inculta"  did  not  ex- 
cept them  from  the  grant.  On  May  16  the  King,  after  a  hear- 
ing of  hoth  sides  by  the  Privy  Council,  ordered  that  the  whole 
matter,  including  a  coimter  petition  from  the  Penns.  shouUl  be 
postponed  until  Michaelmas  Term,  to  enable  either  party  to  i)ro- 
ceed  in  a  court  of  e(|uity  as  to  the  agreement  of  1732.  The  Penns 
filed  a  bill  in  chancer)  on  June  21.  for  specific  performance  of  the 
agreement,  and  the  clearing  of  doubts  about  the  circle  and  centre, 
offering  to  fix  the  centre  in  the  middle  of  the  town  of  Xew  Castle. 
Baltimore's  answer  set  up  that  the  agreement  was  \did  from  im- 
p(jsition  upon  him.  and  for  want  of  consideration. 

Sanmel  Blunston  acted  as  the  Proprietaries"  agent  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Su.squehanna.  and.  prior  to  the  treaty  of  1736.  granted 
licenses  to  settlers  in  those  parts,  which  in  due  time  were  deemed 
sufticient  evidence  of  title.  Some  Germans  went  across,  and  were 
leaving  county  le\ies  to  Lancaster  count\-.  when^ their  neighbor. 
Thomas  Cresa]).  holding  under  a  Maryland  title,  induced  them 
to  acknowledge  Lord  I'.altimore  as  landlord.  1die  Cicrmans  find- 
ing the  rents  asked  for.  heavy,  and  being  told  that  the  land  was 
not  Baltimore's,  sent  a  writing  to  the  Governor  of  Maryland  ex- 
])licitly  renouncing  the  allegiance.  The  sheriff  of  ludtimore 
county,  with  300  men  on  horseback,  armed  with  carbines,  pistols, 
and    ctitlasses,    headed    by    trumpet    and    drum,    commanded    l)y 

3«3 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and    Federal 

Colonel  I'",<l\\ar(l  Ilall,  came  u])  to  Conejohela  to  dispossess  the 
Germans:  Imt  the  slieriff  of  Lancaster,  gathering-  i  ::^o  inhal)itants, 
altliougli  he  had  no  arms  or  animnnition  for  them,  demanded  by 
what  right  the  peace  of  his  connty  was  broken  :  and.  indeed  John 
1  lendricks's  plantation,  where  some  came,  was  U])\\  ards  of  jo  miles 


Map  showing  location  of  Fort  Shirley 

A    frontier    fort    in   Huntingdon  County 

north  of  the  line-agreed  npon  in  1732,  and  it  was  not  then  known 
whether  Cresap's  was  actually  south  of  the  40th  parallel.  The 
Alarylanders,  after  capturing  one  man  for  alleged  riot,  and  after 
distraining  at  some  of  the  houses,  retired,  sending  word  to  the 
Germans,  that,  if  they  would  return  to  their  allegiance,  the  taxes 
should  be  remitted  for  the  present,  luit  if  they  did  not  do  so  within 
two  weeks,  a  greater  force  would  come,  and  ])ut  into  possession 
tliose  who  woidd  be  more  faithful.       Cresaj)  seems  to  have  started 

384 


John  Penn  the  American 

the  project  of  about  50  persons  of  what  Pennsyhania  called  the 
lower  parts  of  Chester  county,  to  remove  to  these  lands,  expected 
to  be  vacant  through  the  ousting  of  the  former  occupiers,  the  Dep- 
uty Go\ernor  of  Maryland  issuing  warrants  for  200  acres  to  each 
adventurer,  and  Cresap  taking  arms  and  ammunition  up  the 
Chesapeake  from  Annapolis,  and  enlisting  some  men  at  12/.  per 
annum.  But  the  Pennsylvania  officials  arrested  some  of  the 
leaders.  The  Lancaster  county  people  then  determined  that 
Cresap,  who  held  a  captain's  commission  from  ^Maryland,  must 
not  remain  at  large.  A  warrant  against  him  on  the  charge  of 
murder,  claimed  by  his  friends  to  have  been  in  self-defence,  had 
been  issued  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  Penn<\  Ivania ;  so  Samuel 
Smith,  the  sheriff  of  Lancaster,  gathered  a  posse  of  24,  and  on 
No\ember  24  proceeded  to  the  house  of  Cresap,  where  they  found 
him  ready  for  defence,  with  six  men  bound  by  oath  to  stand  by 
him,  and  to  shoot  not  only  their  assailants,  but  any  one  of  them- 
selves who  surrendered.  One  of  the  six  escaped  from  the  others 
bv  going  up  through  the  chimney.  \\'hen  Cresap  refused  to 
yield,  the  sheriff  secured  more  assistance,  and  besieged  the  place, 
the  inmates  keqDing  up  a  fusillade  until  near  sundown,  when  the 
sheriff  set  fire  to  the  house,  in  which  were  also  Cresap's  wife  and 
children.  Cresap  would  not  surrender,  although  offer  was  made 
to  extinguish  the  flames.  When  the  floor  was  al>DUt  to  fall  in, 
those  inside  made  a  rush^  and  in  the  confusion  one  of  the  de- 
fenders was  killed.  The  Pennsylvanians  claimed  that  it  was  by 
the  bullet  of  one  of  his  companions,  all  five  of  whom  were  secured, 
and.  except  one  left  at  Lancaster  on  a  charge  of  rape,  were  taken 
to  Philadelphia  and  put  in  its  jail.  Cresap  on  the  previous  charge 
of  murder,  the  others  on  that  of  riot.  The  Lieutenant-Governor 
of  Maryland  sent  Edward  Jennings  and  Daniel  Dulany  to  Phila- 
(lel])hia  to  treat  for  the  discharge  of  the  prisoners,  and  the  punish- 
ment of  the  sheriff  and  his  men,  but  the  only  result  was  taking 
the  irons  oft'  Cresap.  The  Council  and  Assembly  of  Pennsyl- 
vania united  in  a  petition  to  the  King,  following  one  by  the  Ccr- 

1— -5  385 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

mans  interested.  Charles  Hig'ginljotham,  having  obtained  a 
captain's  and  jnstice's  commission  from  the  Lieutenant-Governor 
of  Maryland,  and  led  a  small  party  np  the  Susquehanna,  was 
guilty  ofa  numl)er  of  severities  or  outrages  by  which  the  Germans 
were  reduced  to  a  deplorable  condition.  However,  on  August 
8,  1737,  the  King  ordered  both  Governors  to  preserve  peace  on 
their  respective  borders,  and  to  make  no  grants  of  any  part  of  the 
lands  in  contest  between  the  Proprietors  or  of  any  parts  of  the 
Lower  Counties,  and  to  permit  no  person  to  settle  there  until  his 
"Majesty's  pleasure  be  further  signified.  On  complaint  by  the 
Penns  and  the  agent  for  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania  of  further 
disorders  b}'  Marylanders,  the  Lords  of  Trade  effected  an  agree- 
ment between  the  adverse  Proprietaries  that  the  former  order 
stand  except  as  to  the  Lower  Counties ;  that  all  lands  possessed  by 
or  under  either  should  remain  in  such  possession  and  under  such 
jurisdiction  until  final  settlement  of  the  boundaries;  that  as  to 
vacant  land  outside  of  the  Lower  Counties,  and  not  in  possession 
as  aforesaid,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Susquehanna  as  far  south  as 
I534niiles  south  of  the  latitude  of  the  southernmost  point  of 
Philadelphia,  and  oil  the  west  side  as  far  south  as  i4-)4  miles 
south  of  the  said  latitude,  the  temporary  jurisdiction  should  be  in 
the  Proprietors  of  Pennsylvania ;  and  as  to  the  vacant  lands  south 
of  such  limits,  the  temporary  jurisdiction  should  be  in  the  Pro- 
prietor of  Maryland;  and  that  within  the  limits  of  their  jurisdic- 
tions respectively  the  Proprietors  could  grant  lands  on  the  usual 
terms,  accounting  to  each  other  after  the  final  determination.  The 
King  granted  an  order  for  carrying  out  this  agreement,  May  25, 
1738 ;  and  the  temporary  line  was  run. 

Logan,  after  the  arrival  of  the  new  Lieutenant-Governor,  and 
continuance  for  a  year  more  as  Chief  Justice,  retired  from  pub- 
lic affairs  except  occasional  presence  at  Lidian  treaties,  devoting 
himself  to  very  extensive  literary  and  scientific  pursuits.  Before 
his  death  in  1751  he  gave  his  great  collection  of  books  for  the  use 
of  the  public.     This,  known  as  the  Loganian  Library,  of  which 

386 


John   Penn  the  American 

liis  heir-at-law  was  to  be  liljrarian,  and  for  which  he  gave  a  lot  of 
ground,  is  now,  with  some  additions,  at  the  Ridgway  Library 
building,  administered  l)y  the  Library  Company  of  Philadelphia. 

George  Thomas  arrived  on  June  i,  1738.  The  Proprietaries 
instructed  him  not  to  assent  to  any  law  for  making  or  continuing 
bills  of  credit  unless  it  enacted  that  the  quit  rents  and  other  rents 
due  or  to  become  due  to  the  Proprietaries,  be  paid  according  to 
the  rate  of  exchange  between  Philadelphia  and  London.  The 
Assembly  having  presented  to  him  an  act  for  reprinting,  etc.,  all 
the  bills  of  credit  outstanding,  and  for  striking  the  further  sum 
of  11,110/.  ^s.  on  loan,  he  pointed  out,  that,  as  the  exchange  be- 
tween Philadelphia  and  London  was  70  per  cent.,  while  the  dis- 
count on  Proclamation  money,  according  to  the  act  of  Parliament 
of  6  Annse  w^as  only  £33,6,?.,  Sd.  per  £100,  it  was  unjust  to  oblige 
persons  to  receive  the  paper  money  at  the  value  of  Proclamation 
money  for  debts  contracted  to  be  paid  in  English  money,  and  he 
proposed  to  except  all  debts,  rents,  and  quit  rents  to  the  Proprie- 
taries, and  all  debts  due  in  Great  Britain  agreed  to  be  paid  in  ster- 
ling. The  Assembly  rejected  this,  but  proposed  if  the  bill 
without  such  amendment  be  passed,  to  pay  1,200/.  to  the  Proprie- 
taries as  a  compensation  for  their  losses  in  the  difference  in  ex- 
change on  the  quit  rents  already  due,  and  130/.  annually  for  their 
losses  on  those  falling  due  in  the  time  named  in  the  bill.  Thomas 
Penn  accepted  this,  as  a  necessary  sacrifice  for  the  public  good, 
feeling  that  a  failure  to  re-emit  the  current  bills  of  credit  would 
be  injurious  to  the  trade  of  the  province.  Lieutenant-Governor 
Thomas  explained  the  extent  of  this  sacrifice;  the  arrearages  were 
£11,000  sterling,  so  that  to  make  up  even  50  per  cent.,  1,833/.,  6•^•-• 
C)d.  were  required,  and  to  make  up  70  per  cent.,  4,033/.,  6s.  Sd. 

In  October,  1739,  the  prospect  of  a  war  with  the  yet  mighty 
kingdom  of  Spain  induced  the  Lieutenant-Governor  with  some 
eloquence  to  ask  the  Assembly  to  prepare  for  the  defence  of  the 
province.  It  had  been  al30ut  thirty  years,  and  there  had  l^een 
great    progress    since    a    similar  request  had  lieen  made.     The 

387 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

Quakers  being-  in  the  majority,  the  Assembly  sent  back  the  old 
answer;  nor  could  Thomas,  by  eloquence  or  argument,  by  cour- 
tesy or  ill-suppressed  indignation,  move  them  to  consent  to  a 
militia  law,  even  when  those  conscientiously  opposed  to  fighting- 
were  to  be  exempted  from  its  provision.  In  the  course  of  a 
series  of  messages  between  Thomas  and  the  Assembly,  Israel 
Pemberton  Jr.  said  in  con^•ersation  with  several  persons  in  Alex- 
ander Graydon's  house,  that  it  was  known  what  the  Governor 
was  before  he  came  oxer,  and  what  there  was  to  expect  of  him.  It 
was  his  design  to  overturn  the  Constitution,  and  reduce  this  to  a 
King's  government,  and  it  would  be  proved  on  him.  Graydon, 
wlio  was  not  a  sympathizer  with  the  Quakers,  said  that  as  prob- 
ably the  dispute  would  be  laid  before  their  superiors,  the  latter 
would  best  judge  of  his  behavior.  Pemberton  replied  that  he 
did  not  doubt  the  Governor  would  use  all  his  friends  to  set  the 
Assembly  in  the  wrong,  and  w^ould  make  an  unjust  representation 
of  the  matter.  This  conversation  became  the  talk  of  the  town. 
Pemberton  went  to  Graydon  the  next  day,  but  told  him  that  he 
wanted  no  apology  for  his  words  being  made  public,  for  he  was 
very  glad  that  the  Governor  had  heard  truths  which  the  syco- 
phants who  kept  company  with  the  Governor  would  never  tell 
him.  Thomas,  claiming  the  right  as  chief  magistrate  to  issue  a 
warrant  to  bring  perse  »ns  l^efore  liim  for  examination  on  charges 
of  a  breach  of  the  peace,  issued  one  against  Pemberton,  returnable 
that  afternoon.  Neither  Thomas  Griffitts,  the  third  justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  nor  any  other  councillor,  objected,  but  when 
they  met  in  the  afternoon,  awaiting  the  sheriff  and  Pemberton, 
Gritfitts,  called  out  of  the  room  for  a  few  minutes,  signed  a  writ 
of  habeas  corpus  and  admitted  Pemberton  to  bail.  Thomas  told 
the  sheriff  that  the  habeas  corpus  was  illegal,  and  the  of^cer 
answerable  for  Pemberton  not  being  in  his  custody.  The  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor issued  a  second  warrant.  For  several  days  the 
sheriff  made  an  unsuccessful  and  perhaps  not  very  earnest  at- 
tempt to  take  Pemberton.       War  with  Spain  was  proclaimed  at 

388 


John   Penn  the  American 

the  Town  ll(jiise  on  April  14,  1740.  with  cries  of  "God  Save  the 
King."  firing  of  cannon  from  Society  Hill,  drinking  to  the  King's 
health,  and  opening  of  beer  for  the  populace.  Pressing  the  As- 
sembly to  obey  the  royal  instruction  by  providing  victuals,  trans- 
pcjrts.  and  other  necessaries  for  the  troups  to  be  raised  in  Pennsyl- 


Brietenback   Block  House  in    1S95 

East  of  Myerstown,  Lebanon  County;  used  as 
a  rendezvous  by  the  settlers,  under  Conrad 
Weiser,  1755.  from  a  skotcli  made  especially 
for  this  work 

vania  for  the  expedition  against  the  West  Indies,  the  clothes, 
tents,  arms,  ammunition,  and  pay  being  provide^l  by  the  govern- 
ment of  Great  Britain.  Thomas  offered  to  the  .\sseml)l\  to  appoint 
commissioners  to  assist  in  the  application  of  any  money  it  might 
vote,  and  t(j  render  a  regular  account.  The  non-Uuaker  popula- 
tion organized  seven  companies  of  soldiers,  but  in  these  a  large 
number  of  indentured  servants  enlisted.  ^[any  Quaker  masters 
were  thus  iniured.       The  Assemblv  took  up  the  matter,  and  ad- 

389 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   ami   Federal 

dressed  the  Governor;  l)iu  the  runaways  had  taken  the  (Kith,  and  a 
large  portion  had  recei\-ed  the  King's  subsistence  for  several 
weeks,  and  the  Governor  declined  to  dismiss  them,  except  as  free 
men  took  their  places.  Tliat  the  provision  for  the  troops  could 
be  made  in  time,  private  citizens  advanced  the  money.  Thomas 
Penn  sent  word  to  the  Assembly  on  -Aug.  6  that,  as  he  was  very 
unwilling  that  any  private  interest  of  his  family  should  make  the 
House  less  capable  of  assisting  his  Majesty,  he  was  content  to 
wait  for  the  payments  due  the  Proprietaries  until  after  provision 
for  the  forces.  Finally,  on  the  9th  of  August,  the  Assembly  yield- 
ed to  the  importunities  for  money,  and  voted  3,000/.  to  Thomas 
Griffitts,  Edward  Bradley,  John  Stamper,  Isaac  Norris,  and 
Thomas  Leech,  "for  the  use  of  King  George  IL,"  provided,  how- 
ever, that  no  warrant  for  said  sum  should  issue  from  the  Speaker 
until  all  the  servants  enlisted  should  be  returned  to  their  masters 
free  of  all  charges.  A  remonstrance  to  the  King  was  drawn  up, 
and  Richard  Partridge  was  appointed  agent  for  the  province,  so 
as  to  present  this.  At  the  next  Assembly,  a  committee  reported 
the  number  of  servants  thus  eloigned  as  262,  and  compensation 
was  made  to  the  masters. 

The  Society  of  Friends,  although  numbering,  it  is  said,  only 
one-third  of  the  population,  was  admirably  organized  for  politics 
as  well  as  religion  and  charity :  the  Yearly  Meeting  gathered 
the  chief  men  together  just  before  the  elections  for  assembly- 
men, and  it  was  but  natural  that  they  should  compare  notes,  and 
consult  on  the  political  situation  and  agree  upon  candidates.  Yet 
all  who  professed  themselves  Quakers  were  not  unanimously  of 
the  attitude  represented  by  the  Assembly.  The  Proprietaries 
and  those  affiliated  with  them  and  some  others,  had  laid  hold  of  a 
distinction  between  a  lawful  and  an  unlawful  war,  and  naturally 
made  themselves  belie\e  that  their  King  was  prosecuting  a  lawful 
war.  Logan  apparently  had  never  been  a  non-resistant,  and  in 
1 741  wrote  from  his  retirement  at  Stenton,  a  letter  to  the  Meeting 
setting  forth  the  defenceless  state  of  the  province  and  the  ill  con- 


John   Pcnn  the  American 

sequences  that  might  ensue  upon  men  of  their  principles  procuring 
themseh-es  to  be  returned  to  the  Assembly.  The  shrewder  heads, 
anxious  to  ward  off  the  influence  of  such  an  epistle — for  they  had 
cause  to  fear  if  once  they  withdrew  from  politics,  their  ascendency 
could  never  be  regained — hit  upon  the  expedient  of  appointing  a 
committee,  Robert  Jordan,  John  Bringhurst,  Ebenezer  Large, 
John  Dillwyn,  and  Robert  Strettell,  to  peruse  the  letter,  and  re- 
port whether  it  contained  matters  proper  to  be  communicated  to 
the  jNleeting.  The  committee  reported,  that,  as  it  contained  mat- 
ters of  a  military  and  geographical  nature,  it  was  by  no  means 
proper  to  be  read.  Robert  Strettell  alone  remarked,  that,  con- 
sidering the  letter  came  from  a  man  of  abundant  experience,  an 
old  member  who  had  a  sincere  affection  for  the  welfare  of  the  So- 
ciety, he  was  ap[)rehensive,  should  it  be  refused  a  reading,  such  a 
procedure  would  disgust  not  only  him  but  the  large  body  of 
Friends  in  England.  This  minority  report  was  not  expected, 
and  John  Bringhurst  caught  him  by  the  coat,  saying  sharply,  "Sit 
thee  down,  Robert  Strettell.  thee  art  single  in  that  opinion." 
(Letter  of  Richard  Peters.)  The  Assembly  chosen  in  1741  unani- 
mously voted  3,000/.  "for  the  King's  use"  forwarded  thn^ugh  the 
agent  in  London ;  so  the  general  course  of  Quaker  majorities  in 
time  of  war  had  been  pursued  ;  first  an  affirmance  of  conscientious 
scruples,  and  a  denial  of  the  province  being  in  danger,  and  a  firm 
although  perhaps  unspoken  refusal  to  pass  a  militia  law,  then  a 
plea  of  poverty,  and,  after  many  adjournments,  until  the  oppor- 
tunity to  use  the  money  most  efficiently  had  passed,  a  loud  cry 
against  grievances,  for  which  there  was  a  committee  ready,  just 
as  Friends  had  a  meeting  for  sufferings,  and  finally  an  appropria- 
tion, not  \ery  generous,  specified  euphomistically  as  "for  the 
King's  use,"  and  justified  as  rendering  "tribute  to  C?esar."  Isaac 
Xorris,  son  of  William  Penn's  friend  of  that  name,  and  grandson 
of  Thomas  Lloyd,  was  a  leader  of  the  strict  Friends  in  the  Assem- 
bly, differing  in  ])olitics  from  L<»gan.  one  of  whose  daughters  he 
had  married.       The  various  disputes  between  the  Governor  and 

391 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

the  Quakers,  or  "Norris  party,"  Ijrought  about  contests  for  office 
as  bitter  as  in  modern  times.  The  re-election  of  Norris  to  the 
Assembly  in  1741  could  not  be  prevented;  and  the  Quakers  had 
some  vantage  ground  with  Norris  and  his  l)r()ther-in-la\v  Grif- 
fitts  and  uncle  Preston,  as  three  of  the  aldermen  of  the  city.  But 
the  corporation  was  too  important  a  political  factor  to  be  allowed 
to  feel  his  influence.  The  adverse  party  mustered  a  majority 
to  elect  four  new  aldermen  and  five  new  councilmen  who  would 
further  the  Governor's  plans ;  and  the  prominence  of  the  Lloyd 
connection  and  even  the  equal  footing  of  the  Quakers  in  that 
board  was  destroyed  forever.  It  was  not  so  easy  to  defeat  Nor- 
ris at  a  popular  election.  In  1742,  after  a  session  in  which  he 
had  been  head  of  nearly  every  committee,  and  in  which  he  had 
performed  lasting  ser\^ices  in  superintending-  the  completion  of 
portions  of  the  State  House,  and  in  purchasing  a  site  and  devising 
plans  for  a  Lazaretto,  the  wealthy  Recorder  of  the  city,  William 
Allen,  contended  for  his  seat  in  the  House.  The  German  settlers 
had  invariably  voted  ^^•ith  the  Quakers,  and  it  was  charged  that 
the  "Norris  party''  had  been  in  possession  of  the  polls,  crowded 
out  their  opponents,  and  elected  their  candidate  with  the  aid  of 
unnaturalized  voters.  But  if  the  Governor's  friends  cried 
"fraud,"  they  were  now  guilty  of  "bulldozing."  On  election 
day  of  that  year  a  party  of  sailors,  strong  enough  in  numbers  to 
make  havoc  in  the  little  city,  marched  up  from  the  wharves,  ap- 
plied their  clubs,  and,  wounding  several,  drove  the  disciples  of 
peace  from  the  State  House.  In  the  hubbub  that  followed,  Allen 
is  reported  to  have  said  "They  had  as  good  a  right  to  be  there  as 
the  unnaturalized  Dutchmen;"  he  took  no  steps  to  preserve  the 
peace,  and  his  supposed  complicity  lost  him  many  votes.  Such 
violence  brought  a  reaction  in  public  feeling,  and  Norris  was  re- 
turned. A  fresh  controversy  arose  from  this  "Riot  of  1742,"  the 
new  Assembly  desiring  the  Governor  to  bring  the  officers  of  the 
city  corporation  to  trial  before  the  Supreme  Court,  and  the  Gov- 
ernor refusing,  after  which  a  resolution  was  passed  censuring  the 

392 


Generalissimo  of  all  Uiitish  soldiers  in  the 
Colonics,  1755;  defeated  by  the  Indians  and 
French  near  the  Monongahela  river,   1755 


John   Penn  the  American 

officers  in  question  for  neglect  of  duty,  hi  time  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  and  Assembly  attempted  an  harmonious  course.  Cer- 
tain bills  which  had  been  insisted  upon,  he  finally  assented  to.  and 
the  money-voting  power  granted  him  his  means  of  subsistence. 

In  July,  1742,  about  200  Indians,  among  them  deputies  from 
all  of  the  Six  Nations  except  the  Senecas,  Canassatego  the  Onon- 
daga being  speaker,  came  to  Philadelphia  to  receive  the  goods  in 
exchange  for  the  land  west  of  the  Susquehanna,  purchased  in 
1736.  He  explained  the  absence  of  the  Senecas  by  their  starving 
condition ;  a  father  had  killed  two  of  his  children  to  preserve  the 
lives  of  himself  and  the  rest  of  his  family.  When  the  45  guns, 
60  kettles,  160  coats,  100  blankets,  etc.,  had  been  counted,  Canas- 
satego acknowledged  compliance  with  the  agreement,  but  said  that 
he  thought  if  the  Proprietary  himself  had  been  present  he  would 
have  given  the  Indians  more,  in  consideration  of  their  numbers 
and  poverty.  They  knew  the  value  of  the  lands,  they  knew,  too. 
that  land  was  everlasting,  and  the  few  goods  were  soon  worn  out 
and  gone.  Moreover,  they  complained  that  some  whites  had  set- 
tled on  the  Juniata  and  at  Mahanoy,  beyond  the  land  purchased 
and  to  the  injury  of  the  Delawares.  The  Lieutenant-Governor 
replied  that  the  Proprietaries  had  taken  the  key  of  their  chest  with 
them,  having  in  fact  been  more  generous  than  the  agreement 
called  for.  As  to  the  increase  in  value,  was  it  not  owing  to  the 
industry  of  the  whites?  Had  they  not  come,  the  land  would 
have  been  of  no  use  but  to  maintain  the  red  men.  and  was  there 
not  enough  left  for  that  purpose  ?  The  Quaker  government,  how- 
ever, never  grudged  the  Indians  a  present,  and  so  goods  worth 
300/.  were  given.  Then  the  Six  Nations  were  requested  to  turn 
the  Delawares  from  New  Jersey  off  the  lands  at  the  forks  of  the 
Delaware,  and  accordingly  the  Six  Nations  censured  these 
"women,"  as  they  called  them,  and  obliged  them  to  move  to  ^^'y- 
oming  or  Shamokin. 

War  with  France  was  proclaimed  in  Pennsylvania  on  June 
18.   1744.  all  the  inhabitants  capable  of  bearing  arms  being  en- 

395 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

j(jinecl  to  proxide  thenisehes  with  firelock.  I)ay()net.  cartouch  ]x;)x, 
and  powder  and  balls. 

After  a  fight  near  the  James  River  between  a  party  of  the  Six 
Nations  and  some  Virginians,  in  which  several  on  both  sides  were 
killed,  the  Lientenant-Governor  of  Pennsylvania  had  offered 
mediation  between  that  confederacy  and  the  government  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  so  w-as  brought  al:)out  a  treaty  at  Lancaster  between 
deputies  of  the  confederacy  and  commissioners  from  Maryland 
and  \"irginia  in  June  and  July,  1744,  Thomas  being  present,  at 
which  the  Indians  released  their  claims  to  land  in  those  provinces, 
and  peace  and  friendship  were  confirmed.  The  Indians  were 
informed  of  the  victories  of  the  English  over  the  French.  Canas- 
satego  remarked  that  then  they  must  have  taken  a  good  deal  of 
rum  from  the  French,  and  could  better  spare  some  to  make  the 
Indians  rejoice  with  them;  at  which  hint  a  dram  for  each  was 
given  in  a  small  glass,  which  was  called  a  "French  glass."  Canas- 
satego  the  next  da}-  related  how  in  recognition  of  their  engage- 
ments they  had  told  the  Governor  of  Canada  that  none  of  his  peo- 
ple should  go  through  their  country  to  hurt  the  English,  and  how 
they  had  secured  the  neutrality  of  the  "Praying  Indians,"  i.  e., 
those  converted  to  Roman  Catholicism.  Then  Canassatego  re- 
marked that  he  had  had  a  French  glass ;  he  now  wanted  a  good- 
sized  English  glass ;  and  the  Governor  told  him  that  he  was  glad 
that  he  had  such  a  dislike  for  what  w-as  French ;  "they  cheat  you 
in  your  glasses  as  well  as  in  everything  else."  In  the  same  year 
the  Shawanees  about  Shamokin  joined  their  brethren  on  the  Ohio, 
and  the  Conoys  moved  from  Conoytowni  to  Shamokin.  Peter 
Chartier,  a  trader  ])artly()f  Shawanee  blood,  accepted  a  commission 
under  the  French,  cuid  at  the  head  of  a  party  of  French  and  Shaw- 
anees, robbed  and  made  prisoners  of  traders  on  the  Ohio.  On 
reports  of  a  movement  of  French  Indians  against  the  colony,  the 
Delawares  at  Shamokin  were  applied  to  to  act  as  scouts,  and 
harass  any  large  body  on  the  march,  and  join  the  frontiersmen  in 
defence.        There  was  some  fear  that  the  Six  Nations,   if  they 


I2  c  >. 


lei 


John  Penn  the  American 

found  the  French  in  danger  of  extinction,  would  join  with  them 
to  preserve  the  balance  of  power.  One  old  chief  said  to  Conrad 
Weiser,  who  at  this  time  was  the  proNJncial  interpreter  and  mes- 
senger, that  they  knew  their  true  interests ;  they  would  be  neutral 
until  they  must  join  with  either  side  for  their  own  preservation; 
if  one  side  drove  the  other  out  of  America,  the  Six  Nations  would 
no  longer  receive  consideration.  The  Commissioners  of  Indian 
Affairs  at  Albany  proposed  a  meeting  there  with  representatives 
of  the  confederacy,  and,  Lieutenant-Governor  Thomas's  health 
forbidding  the  journey,  Thomas  Lawrence  and  John  Kinsey  at- 
tended from  Pennsylvania.  They  declined  to  join  the  commis- 
sioners from  New  York,  Massachusetts,  and  Connecticut  in  asking 
the  Six  Nations  to  make  war  on  the  eastern  Indians  for  killing 
some  whites.  While  to  that  proposition  an  answer  was  promised 
after  a  demand  for  satisfaction  should  be  made  upon  the  French 
Indians,  Lawrence  and  Kinsey  in  a  separate  interview  secured  a 
reiteration  of  the  undertaking  to  keep  the  French  from  passing 
through  their  country  on  the  wa}^  to  attack  the  English.  Lawrence 
and  Kinsey  secured  also  a  promise  to  meet  the  Catawbas  at  Phila- 
delphia, to  make  peace  with  them. 

It  may  be  doubted  whether  the  members  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Assembly,  ruling  their  conduct  by  their  conscience,  and  taking- 
care  of  the  interests  of  their  c(jnstituents,  did  not  do  about  all  they 
could  in  a  war  started  by  the  question  scarcely  important  to  them, 
who  should  be  Ccrman  Emperor.  \\"hen  their  King  command- 
ed that  the  colonies  should  carry  out  the  requisitions  of  Commo- 
dore Peter  \\'arren,  and  the  latter  asked  for  men  armed  and 
victualled  for  at  least  seven  months  to  garrison  the  recently  cap- 
tured Louisburg,  the  Assembly  on  5  mo.  24,  1745.  voted  4.000/. 
for  the  King's  use,  to  be  laid  out  by  John  Pole  and  John  Mifflin 
"in  the  purchase  of  bread,  beef,  pork,  flour,  wheat,  and  other 
grain  or  any  of  them  within  this  Province,  and  to  be  shipped  from 
hence  for  the  King's  service  as  the  Governor  shall  think  most  fit." 
\Mien  this  resolve  was  communicated  to  Thomas  in  due  form  by 

399 


Pennsvlvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

two  of  tlie  members,  he  told  them  that  since  the  House  had  par- 
ticularized for  what  the  mdiie}'  should  be  spent,  the  mere  putting- 
of  the  shipping  of  it  under  his  charge  was  no  compliment  to  him. 
A  little  later  he  invented  the  interpretation,  which  Franklin  would 
have  us  suppose  was  intended  by  the  Quakers,  that  "other  grain" 
meant  guni)oAvder.  So  the  forces  were  supplied  with  ammuni- 
tion as  well  as  victuals,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  could  claim  that 
his  province  had  satisfied  the  King,  and  the  Quaker  assemblymen 
said  to  their  consciences  that  the  matter  had  passed  out  of  their 
hands.  The  next  year,  on  receipt  of  the  royal  order  for  troops 
to  join  Governor  Gooch's  command  at  Albany  for  the  campaign 
against  Canada  and  for  the  provisions  and  part  of  the  arms  and 
clothing  for  them,  the  Assembly  offered  t(j  vote  money  for  the 
King's  use  by  issuing  bills  of  credit;  but  there  had  been  previously 
recei^'ed  a  royal  instruction  that  no  act  for  that  purpose  should 
be  passed  without  a  clause  suspending  it  until  approved  of  by  the 
King,  and  the  Lieutenant-Governor  urged  that  the  money  be 
raised  by  a  loan  on  the  security  of  the  excise  or  the  income  accru- 
ing from  the  mortgages  given  to  the  loan  office.  The  Assembly 
replied  that  there  was  a  deficiency  in  these  sources  of  income,  and 
any  additional  tax  would  Ije  inconvenient.  The  Lieutenant- 
Governor  thought  that  a  population  which  for  over  twenty  years 
had  not  paid  a  tax  on  estates  could  afford  to  pay  off  in  a  short 
period  what  should  now  be  borrowed  in  excess  of  what  the  As- 
sembly voted;  but  on  June  24,  1746,  he  consented  to  an  act  grant- 
ing 5,000/.  to  the  King's  use  out  of  the  bills  of  credit  remaining- 
to  be  exchanged  for  torn  and  ragged  bills,  and  for  striking  the 
like  sum  to  replace  them.  The  24th  of  July  was  a  thanksgiving- 
day  for  the  Duke  of  Cumberland's  victory  over  the  Pretender's 
Scotch  forces  at  Ctilloden.  The  Lieutenant-Governor's  proclama- 
tion ordered  the  magistrates  to  prevent  all  immoralities  and  riot- 
ous disorders,  "that  the  day  may  be  observed  with  a  solemnity 
becoming  our  Christian  profession,  and  not  as  has  been  too  often 
the  practice,  with  drunkenness  and  other  kinds  of  licentiousness." 

400 


'"""'^  nadfiO   /,;  sn.jnieq  ,rf,  „,o,l  UW): 


''\'-     \'AA*,\0'A 


'  noiaesKaoq  aril  nl 


A'  O  B  ERT  M  O  R  R  IS 


Etched  for  this  work  hy  Albert  Rosentlial  from  the  painting  by  Gilbert  Stuart 
In  the  possession  of  the  family 


•v/--//;-./"'  'V   '/> 


John   Penn  the  American 

Four  companies  from  Pennsyhania  went  to  Albany,  the  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor procuring-  them  clothing,  arms,  and  ammunition 
on  his  own  credit,  in  expectation  of  remittances  from  Lieutenant- 
General  St.  Clair,  who  was  to  go  from  England  to  Louisburg  as 
commander-in-chief.  But  St.  Clair  and  the  money  not  arriving, 
Thomas  applied  to  the  Assembly  for  a  loan  to  His  [Majesty  to 
pay  for  those  articles  and  discharge  the  arrears  due  to  the  soldiers 
and  provide  subsistence  for  the  time  being.  The  House  answered 
that  there  was  no  money  to  lend  to  the  Crown,  but  he  could  use 
his  own  judgment  about  applying  what  was  left  of  the  5,000/.  to 
the  present  exigencies.  Four  months  subsistence  from  the  time 
of  the  arrival  of  the  companies  at  Albany  was  secured  from  Gen. 
Gooch,  and  Thomas  applied  to  the  Assembly  to  continue  this.  The 
Assembly  then  thouglit  that  as  the  time  for  the  campaign  had 
elapsed,  the  troops  could  come  home. 

On  October  25,  1746,  John  Penn,  "the  American,''  died  un- 
married at  Hitcham,  Co.  Bucks.  England.  Thomas,  in  condol- 
ing with  the  Assembly  upon  the  event,  spoke  of  his  humanity, 
good  nature,  and  affability. 


1—26 


401 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
THOMAS  PENN  AND  RICHARD  PENN 

THE  Penn  estates  in  Pennsyh'ania  and  what  is  now  Delaware 
were  of  four  kinds.  First,  the  milhons  of  unoccupied  and 
unapi^ropriated  acres,  vast  in  future  value,  althoug'h  their 
mineral  wealth  was  not  then  dreamed  of;  as  to  these  millions  of 
acres,  there  were  two  sets  of  claims  to  be  satisfied,  those  of  the 
Indians  and  those  of  white  purchasers  whose  rights  had  not  been 
surveyed;  the  Indians,  as  we  have  seen,  had  by  this  time  relin- 
quished all  the  land  southeast  of  the  Blue  mountains,  and  the  "first 
purchasers"  from  ^Villiam  Penn  had  nearly  all  secured  the  war- 
rant, the  sur\e}-.  and  the  patent  whereby  their  indefinite  property 
of  so  many  acres  "in  Pennsylvania"  had  been  located,  and  the  sub- 
secjuent  purchasers  took  up  their  lands  rapidly,  some  making  bar- 
gains for  definite  tracts,  the  whole  matter  of  granting  warrants 
and  making  surveys  as  well  as  fixing  price  being  in  the  hands  of 
the  Proprietaries  and  the  oft^icers  who  were  their  private  servants. 
Then,  secondly,  were  the  quit  rents,  originally  a  shilling  annually 
for  every  one  hundred  acres  taken  up  by  purchasers,  higher  on 
later  grants;  but  as  to  the  lots  in  Philadelphia  these  rents  were 
larger,  and  as  to  the  "bank  lots,"  /.  c,  those  on  the  east  side  of 
Front  street  running  down  the  bank  to  the  water,  these  rents  were 
to  be  increased  at  the  end  of  every  fifty  years  to  a  rent  equal  to 
one-third  of  the  value  th.en  to  be  ascertained  of  both  lot  and  im- 
provements thereon.  The  cjuit  rents  were  not  easil}',  and  never 
jjromptly,  collected:  they  were  vexatious  in  the  country,  and  in 

402 


Thomas  and  Richard   Penn 


the  citv.  being  more  considerable,  were  often  extinguished  like  any 
ground  rent.  Thirdl}-.  under  the  original  plan  that  \\'illiam  Penn 
should  take  a  tenth  of  the  land  as  his  private  property,  he  and  his 
sons  and  in  fact  his  grandsons  had  large  tracts  surveyed  for  them- 
selves as  manors.  Within  these  they  let  at  w  ill.  from  year  to  year, 
or  for  years,  or  sold  at  rent  or  ])rices  according  to  special  agree- 
ment, or  their  servants  folUmed  agriculture.      Lastlv.  there  was 


Rocking  Family   Meat-Cutter 

L'sed  by  the  early  German  settlers.  Photo- 
graphed especially  for  this  work  from  the  orig- 
inal in  possession  of  T.   F.   Sachse 

the  private  property  which  had  come  to  the  Penns  in  other  ways 
than  bv  virtue  of  being  Proprietaries,  for  instance  that  devised  by 
Thomas  Callowhill.  The  "Historical  Review  of  the  Constitution 
and  Government  of  I'ennsylvania.'"  printed  in  1759.  gives  in  the 
appendix  an  estimate  of  the  Penn  estates  exclusive  of  the  unoccu- 
pied and  unappropriated  lands  which  we  first  mentioned,  prej^ared 
by  Thomas  Penn  in  John  Penn's  lifetime.  After  stating  the 
value  of  (|uit  rents  reserved  and  the  un|)aid  purchase  money  due 
as  188.27S/.  10s.,  Pennsylvania  money,  including  i  .000/.  as  the 
value  of  the  ferr\-  franchises  leased  at  40/.  per  annum,  he  enumer- 
ates the  prixate  lands,  etc..  as  follows,  the  estimated  value  being 
also  in  Peniisyhania  money: 

403 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 


2  Gilbert's 

25 

3  Springfield 

12 

4  Highlands 

35 

5  Springtown 

27 

6  Vincent's 

40 

7  Richland's 

3S 

MANORS 

city,  13.400 

acres 

at  40/, 

3,200 

70 

1,600 

75 

2,500 

30 

10.000 

35 

20,000 

35 

10,000 

15 

per  li.  5,360 

2,240 
1,200 
750 
3,500 
7,000 
1.500 
9  About  20  tracts  in  the  several  counties,  mostly  500  acres  each, 

reckoned  10,000  at  40/.  4,000 

Springetsbury  207  acres  at  5/.  1,035 

8  On  the  north  side  of  the  town  50  30  1,500 
Back  of  the  said  land                             15                  10  150 

9  Lot  in  the  bank  at  north  end  of  the  town,  200  feet  at  3/.  600 

10  A  front  and  back  lot  between  Vine  and  Sassafras  street,   102 

feet,  at  61.  612 

11  Bank  lot  between  Cedar  and  Pine  204  feet  at  3/.  612 

12  Front  lot  on  the  side  of  Cedar  street  102  3  306 

13  Ditto  between  Cedar  and  Pine  160  2  32a 

14  Bank  lot  between  the  same  streets  40  2  80 

15  Alarsh  land  near  the  town,  600  acres  at  3/.  1,800 

16  Ditto  200  acres  at  is.  sterling  rent,  and  165  per  cent,  is  330 
Lands  within  the   draft  of  the  town,   at   least   500  acres,   250 

nearest  Delaware  at  15/.  per  acre  3,750 

250  nearest  Schuylkill  at  10/.  per  acre  2,500 

17  Omitted — Streeper's  tract  in  Bucks  Co.  35  miles,  5,000  acres  at  25/.  1,250 

18  The  rents  of  the  above  manor  and  lands  being  77,oy2  acres  at 

a  halfpennj'  per  acre.     20  years  purchase  at  165  per  cent, 
exchange  5.298.12. 


45,693/.i25. 
Value  of  cjuit  rents  reserved  and  unpaid  purchase  money  due 

including  value  of  ferry  franchise  as  1,000/.  188,278/.  io.y. 


233.972/.2.J. 
The  Government  to  be  calculated  at  no  less  than  was  to  have 

been  paid  for  it,  viz.:  £11,000  at  165  per  cent,  is  18,150 

252,I22/.2J. 


Thomas  and  Richard  Penn 

In  this  calculation  no  notice  is  taken  of  the  thirds  reserved  on 
the  bank  lots  (a  copy  of  the  patents  J.  Penn  has  by  him  to 
shew  the  nature  of  them)  and  nine-tenths  of  the  Province 
remains  undisposed  of. 

Three-tifths  of  all  royal  mines  is  reserved  in  the  grants,  and 
in  all  grants  since  the  year  1732  one-fifth  part  of  all  other 
mines  delivered  at  the  pit's  mouth  without  charge  is  also 
reserved. 

No  value  is  put  on  the  Proprietor's  right  to  escheated  lands ; 
and  besides  these  advantages,  several  offices  are  in  the 
Proprietor's  gift  of  considerable  value. 

Register-General  about  200/. 

Naval  officer  300/. 

Clerk  of  Philadelphia  400/. 

Chester  300/. 

Bucks  200/. 

Lancaster  200/. 

Besides  several  other  offices  of  less  value.     These  are  only  guessed  at." 

The  will  of  John  Penn,  in  aecordance  with  his  co\"enant  to 
leave  his  estate  to  one  or  both  of  his  brothers,  ga\e  his  moiety  of 
Pennsylvania  and  the  Lower  Counties  to  Thomas  Penn  for  life, 
with  remainder  to  his  sons  in  the  order  of  birth  successively  in 
tail  male.  Therefore  during  the  twenty-nine  years  that  Thomas 
survived,  he  had  three  times  as  much  share  as  the  youngest 
brother,  Richard,  or  the  son  who  succeeded  the  latter. 

Of  Richard  Penn,  who  never  came  to  Pennsylvania,  the  chief 
thing  to  remark  is  that  at  an  early  date  he  forsook  the  Society  of 
Friends,  and  if  he  did  not  sacramentally  join,  otherwise  con- 
formed to  the  Church  of  England,  his  children  receiving  infant 
baptism.  His  children  who  lived  to  grow  up.  were  John.  Han- 
nah, and  Richard,  of  whom  Hannah  married  James  Clayton,  and 
died  without  issue;  John  figures  in  our  history  as  Councillor. 
Lieutenant-Ciovernor.  and  Proprietar}- ;  and  Richard  was  also 
Lieutenant-CInvcrnor.  and  alone  left  children,  but  these  died  with- 
out issue,  the  last  in  1863.  Of  Lieutenant-Governor  Richard 
Penn's  brilliant  son  William,  who  made  a  derogatory,  and  unlucky 

405 


Pennsylvania   Colonial   and    Federal 

marriage,  when  on  a  \isit  to  Pennsyh'ania,  George  IV.  said:  "He 
was  a  Pen  often  cut  (drunk)  but  ne\er  mended."  Richard  Penn 
the  Proprietary  died  Feb.  4,  1771. 

Thomas  Penn,  at  John's  deatli.  took  the  (hrection  in  the  gov- 
ernment and  business  of  property  to  which  his  share  and  senior- 
ity entitled  him,  and  for  which  ability  and  experience  fitted  him. 
He  was  master  over  his  weak  nephew  John,  whom  he  sent  away 
and  kept  away  from  the  girl,  objectional)le  in  herself  or  her  sur- 
roundings, perhaps  only  liecause  they  were  humble,  whom  as  a 
schoolboy  John  had  married.  He  himself  remained  a  bachelor 
until  1 75 1,  when  he  entered  a  family  of  the  nobility  by  marrying 
Lady  Juliana,  daughter  of  Thomas  Fermor,  first  Earl  of  Pom- 
fret,  second  Baron  Lempster,  etc.  From  a  mercer's  apprentice, 
as  Jenkins  has  supposed,  at  the  death  of  the  Foimder  of  Penn- 
sylvania, the  middle-aged  Ijridegroom  had  risen  to  be  one  of  the 
rich  gentry  of  England,  ruler  of  an  American  principality  larger 
than  Ireland.  He  ceased  to  be  a  Quaker,  regularly  attending 
church  after  his  marriage,  and  in  1760  purchased  the  historic 
seat  of  Stoke  Park  at  Stoke  Pogis,  where  he  established  his  fam- 
ily. His  sister  Margaret's  child,  Philadelphia  Hannah  Freame, 
married  in  1770  Thomas  Dawson,  Baron  Dartrey.  afterwards 
\'iscount  Cremorne,  whose  first  wife  was  Lady  Juliana's  sister. 
Thomas  Penn  died  March  21,  1775.  Although  he  left  sons,  and 
one  of  them  had  children,  the  only  descendants  now  living  in 
male  or  female  line  of  the  Founder's  second  wife  are  through 
Thomas's  daughter,  who  married,  in  1796,  Rev.  Dr.  William 
Stuart,  afterwards  Archbishop  of  Armagh. 

John  Penn,  the  American,  had  not  thought  well  of  a  sugges- 
tion to  make  Thomas  Penn  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  perhaps  be- 
cause of  the  latter's  want  of  popularizing  manners,  perhaps  be- 
cause he  had  already  entered  upon  a  life  offensive  in  morals.  An 
anecdote  of  his  want  of  cordiality  or  effusiveness  is  worth  repeat- 
ing. When  the  Rev.  Hugh  David  of  Gwynedd  called  on  him, 
having  prepared  a  i)oem  of  welcome  referring-  to  the  descent  which 

406 


Thomas  and  Richard   Penn 

William  Penn  had  claimed  from  the  Welsh  Tiidors,  Thomas  Penn 
spoke  three  sentences:  "How  dost  do?''  "Farewell."  "The  other 
door."  -Mr.  David  did  not  hand  him  the  poem.  Watson,  in  the 
"Annals  of  Philadelphia,"  tells  us  how  the  hunter  who  made  the 
Walk  of  1737  received  such  small  pay  that  he  ''damned  Penn  and 
his  half  wife  to  their  faces."  Watson  further  relates  that  when 
Thomas  Penn  was  leaving  Pennsylvania,  some- fellows  raised  a 
gallows  across  the  road  over  which  he  had  to  pass.  We  may  say 
that  all  through  as  a  general  rule  in  the  conduct  of  affairs  con- 
nected with  Pennsylvania  he  showed  the  acquisitiveness  of  the 
land  speculator  with  the  selfishness  of  the  aristocrat.  Yet  he  had 
some  puhlic  s])irit,  giving  money  or  lots  to  certain  institutions  as 
well  as  to  private  individuals,  and  perhaps  to  reprohate  his  making 
the  most  of  his  property  would  be  to  demand  of  him  the  self- 
abnegation  f)f  a  philanthropist  or  the  proverbial,  yet  seldom  found, 
generosity  of  a  prince. 

We  will  now  proceed  to  a  narration  of  the  events  of  the 
earlier  years  of  Thomas  anrl  Richard  Penn's  governorship  and 
projjrietaryship. 

George  Thomas,  in  his  message  announcing  the  death  of 
John  Penn,  also  notified  the  House  of  his  own  intended  relin- 
quishment of  the  lieutenant-governorship  and  departure  for  Eng- 
land, on  account  of  his  health.  After  the  conflict  between  him 
and  the  Assembly,  there  was  now  harmony,  and  the  House 
declared  that  his  continuance  in  the  exercise  of  the  government 
would  have  been  most  agreeable  to  the  members,  and  that  nobody 
doubted  his  skill  or  abilities,  and  they  believed  that  he  had  been 
regardful  of  both  the  King's  service  and  the  honor  and  reputa- 
tion of  the  province. 

At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Council  presided  over  by  Thomas. 
May  29,  1747.  James  Logan's  resignation  was  accepted,  he  not 
having  considered  himself  a  member  since  Thomas's  accession ; 
and  it  was  unanimously  agreed  that  the  following  only  were 
members,  and   in  the  following  order  of  precedcncv.  viz.  :  An- 

407 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

thony  Palmer,  Thomas  Lawrence,  Samuel  Hasell,  \\'illiam  Till, 
Abraham  Taylor,  Robert  Strettell,  James  Hamilton,  Benjamin 
Shoemaker,  Joseph  Turner,  Lawrence  Growdon,  and  Thomas 
Hopkinson.  William  Logan,  son  of  James,  was  then  appointed, 
to  take  a  seat  at  the  next  meeting.  This  was  held  on  June  6, 
Thomas  having  meanwhile  embarked,  and  Anthony  Palmer  as 
eldest  councillor  became  President.  He  had  come  from  Bar- 
bados forty  years  before,  having  been  a  merchant  there,  and.  it 
would  appear,  a  sea  captain.  He  was  a  Churchman,  and  lived 
in  considerable  style.  On  his  plantation  in  the  Northern  Lib- 
erties, from  which,  it  is  said,  he  came  to  the  city  in  a  barge,  he 
started  a  town,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Kensington. 

At  this  time  the  dominion  of  the  Penns  was  the  granary  of 
America;  Philadelphia  the  supply  port  for  provisions  for  any 
fleet  operating  above  the  Spanish  Mam.  So  whenever  there  was 
a  war,  an  embargo  was  laid,  from  which  the  traders  suffered. 
But  now  the  trade  with  the  other  British  possessions  was  nearly 
at  a  standstill  from  privateers  in  the  bay.  Landing  parties 
burned  plantations  in  the  Lower  Counties,  and  the  city  was  in 
terror  lest  some  French  or  Spanish  man-of-war  would  make  its 
way  up  the  unprotected  river,  and  have  the  place  at  its  mercy. 
The  Assembly  was  appealed  to  in  vain  to  do  something  for  de- 
fence. No  militia  laM^  could  be  passed,  had  the  /Assembly  been 
ever  so  willing,  for,  with  no  Governor,  there  was  no  power  of  leg- 
islation. Money,  it  had  not.  and  while  controlled  by  Quakers,  it 
would  not  undertake  obligations  for  such  purposes.  Benjamin 
Franklin,  who  for  some  years  had  been  Clerk  of  the  Assembly, 
and  also  Deput}'  Postmaster-General  under  ex-Governor  Spots- 
wood,  of  Virginia,  wrote  a  pamphlet  called  Plain  Truth,  and  sug- 
gested an  association  for  defense  at  a  town  meeting.  About  1,200 
persons  present  enrolled  themselves.  Altogether  about  10,000 
names  came  in  from  the  whole  province.  A  battery  was  estab- 
lished where,  sixty  years  afterward,  the  United  States  started  its 
navy  yard  (foot  of  Prime  street.  Philadelphia).     Franklin  and 

'    '   408 


Thomas  and   Richard    Pciin 

other  ])r()minent  citizens  went  over  tn  Xew  York  witli  a  re(|iiest 
from  the  Council,  and  induced  Governor  Clinton  to  let  them  have 
eighteen  cannon.  Franklin  started  a  lottery  tor  the  battery;  and 
James  Logan  spent  60/.  in  tickets,  ordering  any  prizes  that  he 
might  draw  to  he  devoted  to  the  cause.  A  motion  was  carried  in 
the  fire  company,  in  which  were  many  Quakers,  to  appropriate 
monev  for  a  hre  engine,  and  the  mover  of  the  motion  and  the  rest 
of  the  comniittee  Ixmght  a  fine  cannon,  that  being  w^at  the  war- 
like members  meant  by  a  "fire  engine."  The  7th  of  January, 
1747-8.  was  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer.  .\pi)lication  was  made 
to  the  Admiralty  for  a  British  man-of-war  to  cruise  in  the  bay. 
The  Otter  sloop,  Capt.  Ballet,  was  sent,  through  the  endeavors  of 
the  Proprietaries  in  London,  but  met  with  a  very  large  vessel  on 
the  wav.  fought  for  four  hours,  and  was  so  much  weakened  as  to 
have  to  be  repaired  before  attempting  any  service.  Although 
the  plan  of  the  military  association,  whereby,  among  other  fea- 
tures, the  men  elected  their  officers,  and  these  were  not  under  the 
command  of  the  acting  Governor,  was  irregular,  the  attendance 
was  so  constant  and  the  drilling  so  careful  that  it  was  the  opinii^n 
of  most  strangers  that  Pennsylvania  had  the  l)est  militia  in 
America  and  one  of  the  best  furnished  l)atteries  of  its  size  on  the 
continent. 

By  a  treaty  held  at  Lancaster  in  July.  1748.  the  Twightees 
dwelling  on  the  Wabash  were  brought  into  alliance  with  Penn- 
.sylvania.  and  the  Shawanees  no  longer  with  Chartier  were  re- 
ceived back  into  favor. 

A  preliminarv  treaty  of  ])eace  was  signed  at  Aix-la-Chapelle 
on  April  19.  1748.  acceded  to  by  Spain  on  June  17.  and  a  defini- 
tive treaty  at  the  same  place  (Ui  October  7.  subse(|uently  acceded 
to  by  Spain.  Austria,  etc. 

James   Hamilton,   of   Bush    Hill,   in  the  Northern   Liberties, 
who  liad  been  mayor  of  Philadel])hia,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
Ci(tvernr)r's  Council,  a  son   of  the  former   .\ttorne\-(  ieneral.   re- 
ceived, while  soioin'ning  in   London,   the   Proprietaries"  commis- 
si ' 


Pennsylvania   Colonial   and   Federal 

sion  as  Lientenant-Cknenior.  and  arrixed  al  home  in  XoxTmber, 
1748.  He  was  the  onl}-  inhabitant  of  tlie  ])i"o\ince  appointed  to 
that  office  after  the  death  of  Penn,  in  whose  lifetime,  moreover, 
Lloyd  and  Alarkham  at  his  second  appointment  were  the  only 
ones.  So  the  new  Lieutenant-Cimernor  was  hailed  with  pleasure; 
but  he  had  a  dispute  with  his  iirst  Assembly.  It  passed  a  bill  for 
the  issuing  of  20,000/.  in  bills  of  credit.  The  instructions  sent 
in  1740  by  the  British  Ministry  having  forbidden  the  Governor  to 
pass  any  act  for  that  purpose  without  a  clause  suspending  its 
operation  until  the  royal  assent  should  be  given,  Hamilton  pro- 
posed an  amendment  to  that  effect;  whereupon  the  Assembly 
unanimously  resolved  that  it  would  be  "destructive  of  the  liberties 
derived  to  them  by  the  royal  and  provincial  charters,"  the  charter 
of  Charles  H  having  expressly  authorized  the  legislature  of  the 
province  to  enact  laws  which  should  remain  in  force  five  years  or 
until  the  King  repealed  them.  Hamilton  remained  firm,  consid- 
ering that  these  instructions  were  contemplated  in  the  bond  of 
£2,000  which  he  had  given  on  his  taking  office;  and  Ryder,  ex- 
Attorney-General  of  England,  afterwards  gave  an  opinion  sus- 
taining him. 

On  August  22,  1749,  Hamilton  purchased  for  the  Proprie- 
taries from  the  Six  Nations  a  tract  bounded  by  the  Delaware  and 
Susquehanna  rivers,  extending  from  the  Blue  mountains  to  a  line 
running  from  the  mouth  of  Lackawaxen  creek  to  the  mouth  of 
Mahanoy  Creek.  York  county,  including  what  is  now  Adams, 
was  formed  in  1749,  and  Cumberland,  lying  west  and  southwest 
of  it.  in  1750,  Berks  and  Northampton  in  1752. 

On  May  15,  1750,  Lord  Chancellor  Hardwicke  decided  the 
case  brought  by  the  Penns  against  Lord  Baltimore  in  1737,  say- 
ing that  from  the  mighty  interests  involved  "it  was  worthy 
the  judicature  of  a  Roman  Senate  rather  than  of  a  single  judge." 
He  found  that,  in  making  the  agreement  of  1732  for  settling  the 
l)oundaries.  Lord  Baltimore  was  neither  surprised  nor  imposed 
u])on  nor  ignorant.      There  was  no  mistake  as  to  the  intention  of 

412 


Thomas  and  Richard   Penn 

the  parties.  The  settlement  of  hmndaries  was  a  sufficient  consid- 
eration to  both.  It  was  not  necessary  for  the  court  to  go  into  the 
question  of  the  original  right  of  the  parties,  it  being  sufficient  that 
the  right  was  doubtful.  The  clearest  point,  the  Chancellor  said, 
was  as  to  the  circle  around  New  Castle;  it  was  to  be  twelve  miles 
in  radius,  with  the  center  of  the  town  for  its  center.  So  he  de- 
creed specific  performance  without  prejudice  to  any  right  of  the 
Crown. 

This  decision,  disposing  of  one  lioundary  f|uestion.  left 
others  looming  up  about  this  time.  That  with  Connecticut  was 
scarcely  thought  of.  Charles  II  granted  on  April  j^.  1662.  nine- 
teen years  before  the  charter  to  Penn,  a  charter  to  Connecticut, 
bounding  it  as  follows :  "On  the  east  by  Xarragansett  river,  com- 
monly called  Narragansett  bay,  where  the  said  river  falleth  into 
the  sea;  on  the  north  by  the  line  of  the  Massachusetts  Plantation, 
and  on  the  south  by  the  sea,  and  in  longitude  as  the  line  of  the 
Massachusetts  colony  running  from  east  to  west,  that  is  to  say 
from  the  said  Narragansett  bay  on  the  east  to  the  South  Sea  on 
the  west  part."'  As  was  well  pointed  out  by  Provost  William 
Smith,  D.  D.,  if  this  description  was  to  l)c  literally  followed,  the 
south  line  of  Connecticut  would  run  down  the  whole  Atlantic  coast 
line  of  America  to  Cape  Horn  and  up  the  Pacific  coast  line,  where 
it  would  coincide  with  the  western  boundary,  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
or  South  Sea.  As  between  Connecticut  and  New  York  a  lx)und- 
ary  line  was  fixed,  which  in  Penn's  time  was  supposed  to  be  as  far 
west  as  the  former  would  ever  claim.  Over  thirty  years  after  his 
death  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  crowded  colony  took  up  the 
notion  that  although  New  York  was  to  be  excepted  from  the  op- 
eration of  their  old  charter,  anv  land  west  of  New  York  was  not, 
and  that  the  jurisdiction  law  fully,  juni])ing  New  York,  ran  across 
Pennsylvania  and  any  other  region  where  Europeans  were  not  in 
possession  at  the  date  of  the  charter.  The  southern  line  (^f  their 
claim  was  the  latitude  of  the  southernmost  point  of  Connecticut 
east  of  New  York.     Unreasonable  as  we  think  this  claim,  yet  if  it 


Pennsylvania   Colonial   and    Federal 

could  have  been  satisfied  widioiU  embroiling-  the  British  colonies 
with  the  Indians,  it  would  have  l)een  for  the  best  interests  of 
America.  Connecticut  was  the  most  thickly  populated  of  the  col- 
onies, needed  a  chance  to  overflow,  and  could  have  sent  an  ener- 
getic, self-reliant,  and  bcllisjerent  community  to  subdue  the  earth, 
and  stand  against  the  French. 

The  events  recorded  in  our  next  chapter  made  the  boundary 
between  Pennsyhania  and  \'irginia  a  matter  for  consideration. 
Charles  H's  charter  to  William  Penn  ga\e  him  five  degrees  of 
longitude  westward  from  the  eastern  l)ounds,  that  is  from  the 
Delaware  river:  l)ut  did  that  mean  five  degrees  from  the  longitude 
of  the  point  where  the  river  crossed  the  northern  boundary  line, 
wdiich  A\-ould  seem  reasonable,  or  five  degrees  from  the  western- 
most point  of  the  meandering  river  within  the  borders^  or  five  de- 
grees from  tJie  easternmost  point  thereof  within  the  borders?  Or 
did  it  mean  that  the  western  boundary  was  not  to  be  a  straight 
line,  Imt  a  series  of  curves  paralleling  the  course  of  the  Delaw-are 
and  each  point  five  degrees  from  the  corresponding  point  of  the 
river?  A  good  portion  of  the  present  state  of  \\'est  Virginia  lies 
north  of  the  39th  parallel,  which  was  in  so  many  words  made  our 
southern  boundar}'.  The  fixing  of  a  boundary  with  ]\Iaryland 
north  of  this  parallel  was  based  upon  a  private  agreement  to  which 
Virginia  was  not  a  party,  and  did  not  prevent  Pennsylvania  from 
ha\'ing  an  L  running  along  the  western  lioundary  of  ^Maryland. 


414 


CHAPTER  XI\'. 

THE  FRENXH  INVASIOX 

WE  now  come  to  a  time  when.  upDn  a  wider  question  of 
boundaries,  there  were  not  merely  a  few  casualties,  but, 
the  parties  being  two  "world-powers,"  blo<jd  was  poured 
over  the  mountains  of  Pennsylvania,  the  food  as  well  as  the  shelter 
for  man  and  beast  was  reduced  to  ashes  in  the  rich  frontier  val- 
leys, families  were  decimated  by  the  snatching  away  of  loved  ones 
to  capti\-it}-  among  savages,  while  extortion.  rai)ine,  and  lust  had 
their  victims,  as  usual,  in  the  path  of  the  enemy's  raid  or  the 
friendly  army's  march.  Trior  to  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle.  as 
tar  as  we  know,  tlierc  had  nc\  or  been  any  fort,  post  or  settlement  of 
]''renchnien  within  the  present  limits  of  this  State,  although  Brule 
liad,  in  1615.  visited  Tioga  Point  (Athens.  Bradford  county), 
Canadians  liad  made  maps  of  the  country  west  of  the  Alleghanies, 
and  French  missionaries  and  traders  were  in  pt>ssession  of  the 
lower  Ohio.  When,  therefore,  after  that  treaty,  notwithstanding 
the  treaty  of  L'trecht.  in  17 13.  had  descrilicd  the  Five  Nations 
as  subject  to  the  dominion  of  Great  Britain,  and  prohibited  the 
subjects  of  I-'rance  from  liindering  or  molesting  them  or  the  other 
natives  friendly  to  the  same,  and  had  gi\cn  liberty  to  both  .>?ides  to 
go  and  come  on  account  of  trade:  when,  notwithstanding  this, 
French  officers.  l)asing  their  claim  on  early  exploration  and  the  res- 
toration of  original  possessions  by  the  treaties  of  peace,  came  to  the 
banks  of  the  Allegheny,  whicli  then  was  included  under  the  name 
of  Ohio  ri\er.  or  Ea  Belle  Riviere,  and  attempted  to  turn  off  the 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

English  traders,  we  eall  it  an  invasion.  Yet  we  cannot  lay  upon 
the  governor  of  Canada,  or  the  ministers  of  Louis  XV,  vho 
may  have  prompted  him  or  supported  him.  all  the  blame  for  the 
war,  the  first  assaults  of  which  the  New  England  officials  w'ere 
champing  to  make,  the  first  gun  of  ^\•hich  rascally  traders  from 
the  middle  ])rovinces  were  scarcely  restrained  from  firing.  After 
all,  Pennsyh-ania  became  a  desolation  because  Great  Britain,  as 
she  has  done  in  engaging  in  several  great  wars,  made  herself  a 
party  to  the  scheme  of  non-resident  speculators.  The  Ohio  Com- 
pany was  chartered  in  1749,  composed  mostly  of  Marylanders 
and  A'irginians,  and  obtained  fr(^m  the  King  of  England  a  grant 
of  500.000  acres  of  land  on  the  Ohio  between  the  Monongahela 
and  Kanawha  rivers,  on  condition  of  building  and  garrison- 
ing a  fort,  and  within  seven  years  settling  one  hundred  families. 
By  the  interpretation  finally  adopted  of  Charles  II's  charter  to 
William  Penn,  part  of  this  land  was  in  Pennsylvania  and  be- 
longed to  the  Proprietaries  thereof,  saving  the  rights  of  the  In- 
dians, whom,  however,  none  but  Penn's  heirs  could  legally  buy 
ofif :  by  the  contention  of  the  French  the  whole  of  North  America 
west  of  the  Alleghanies  was  theirs.  Previous  to  the  chartering* 
of  this  company,  or  before  the  fact  was  known  to  the  Governor 
of  New  France,  the  latter,  who  was  the  Marquis  de  la  Galison- 
niere.  sent  ^Celeron  de  Bienville  to  the  Allegheny  and  further 
down  the  Ohio.  He,  finding  Pennsylvania  traders  there,  com- 
plained of  it  to  Governor  Hamilton,  in  August,  1749,  and  nailed 
up  or  buried  plates  "as  a  monument,""  the  inscriptions  said,  "of  our 
having  retaken  possession  of  the  said  River  Ohio  and  of  those 
that  fall  into  the  same  and  of  all  the  lands  on  both  sides  as  far  as 
the  sources  of  the  said  rivers,  as  well  as  of  those  of  which  the  pre- 
ceding kings  of  France  have  enjoyed  possession,  partly  by  force 
of  arms,  partly  by  treaties,  especially  1)y  those  of  Ryswick,  Utrecht, 
and  Aix-la-Chapelle."  A^arious  embassies  followed  to  induce  the 
Indians  recently  in  alliance  \\ith  tlie  English  to  return  to  their 
allegiance  to  the  French,  and  let  them  build  forts  and  monopolize 

4>6 


The   French   Invasion 

trade.  Christopher  (list,  sent  by  the  Ohio  Ci)nii)an\-.  and  (jeorj^e 
Croghan  and  Andrew  Montour,  sent  by  the  (lovernor  of  Penn- 
syh'ania,  were  the  ehief  agents  in  foibng  these  attem]>ts.  or  ratlier 
in  confirmino-  tlie  Ohio  IiKhans  in  their  refusal.      1'lie  I'rencli,  not 


Timothy   Horsheld 

Built  the  first  private  house  at  BcthlchLiu; 
took  an  inijiortant  part  in  protecting  the  settle- 
ments against  the  Indians,  1755-1761;  with 
William  Parsons,  he  laid  out  the  first  road 
between  P.ethlehein  and  Easton.  Photographed 
especially  for  this  work  from  the  original  por- 
trait in  oil  bv  Haidt  in  the  possession  of  nr. 
W.   T.   Holland 

confining  themselves  to  presents  and  ])roclaniations,  arrested  trad- 
ers and  confiscated  their  goods,  while  the  comersion  of  manv  of 
the  hidians  in  Xew  ^'ork  to  the  l\(iman  Catholic  religion  seemed 
an  entering  lever  which  might  turn  the  Six  Xations.  The  Pro- 
prietaries, having  been  asked  by  the  Assembly  of  I 'ennsylwania  for 

1-27  417 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and    Federal 

a  contribiitii)!!  to  the  necessary  presents  sent  to  tlic  trihcs  I)v  the 
Province,  refused,  but  offered  to  give  400/.  towards  buildint^-  a 
fort  and  100/.  a  year  towards  maintaining  in  it.  with  arms  and 
powder,  a  garrison  of  four  or  six  men  commanded  l)y  the  chief 
trader.     In  this  the  Assembly  refused  to  take  part,  saying  that 
they  did  not  believe  the  Ohio  Indians  really  wished  it,  although 
Croghan's  journal  so  stated.     The  Assembly  added :     "We  have 
always  found  that  sincere,  upright  deahng  with  the  Indians,  a 
friendly  treatment  of  them  on  all  occasions,  and  particularlv  in 
relieving  their  necessities  at  proper  times  by  suitable  presents, 
have  been  the  best  means  of  securing  their  friendship."    The  con- 
sequences of  these  refusals  by  the  Proprietaries  and  the  xA.ssembly 
to  strengthen  each  other's  measures  were  more  prolonged  than 
in  regard  to  securing  the  friendship  of  the  wavering  Indians,  or 
control  over  their  territor}-  until  the  outbreak  of  actual  war.     We 
can  see  the  beginning  of  the  long  struggle  as  to  taxing  the  Penn 
estates,  and  the  leaving  open  of  the  field  to  the  claims  of  Virginia. 
The  French  proceeded  to  drastic  measures  against  the  Indians, 
whom  they  chose  to  call  rebels.     Thirty  of  the  Twightees  having 
been  killed,  the  Shawanees  wished  to  avenge  them,  but,  l)efore 
doing  so,  notified  the  Lieutenant-Go\'ernor  of  Pennsylvania,  hop- 
ing for  approval  and  aid.    Hamilton,  knowing  that  the  principles 
of  the  Quakers  were  entirely  adx'erse  to  assisting  in  an  Indian 
war.  and  unwilling  to  promise  what  their  control  over  the  public 
funds  would  render  him  unable  to  perform,  referred  these  chiefs  to 
the  commissioners  from  X^irginia  attending  the  council  appc^inted 
by  the  King  of  England  to  be  held  at  Logstown   (below  Pitts- 
burg) in  May,  1752.     The  Delawares.  Shawanees,  and  Mingoes 
attended,  and  entered  into  a  treaty  with  the  Virginia  commis- 
sioners not  to  molest  English  traders  south  of  the  Ohio.    Tanach- 
arisson,  the  local  head  under  the  Six  Nations,  and  called  the  Half 
King,  advised  the  building  of  a  fort  at  the  forks  of  the  Mononga- 
hela.     Gist,  according!}',  laid  out  a  town,  and  started  a  fort  at 
Chartier's  creek,  and  began  a  settlement  just  beyond  Laurel  Hill 

418 


The   French   Invasion 

near  the  ^'Diig-hio^lieny  with  eleven  families.  The  Ohi<»  Com- 
pany established  also  a  tradings  jjost  at  Will's  creek.  The  t\v<> 
places  first  mentioned  were  within  the  bounds  of  Pennsylvania. 

John,  scm  of  Richard  I'enn  the  Proprietary.  arri\ed  in  De- 
cember. 1752.  to  make  his  lidme  in  PennsyKania.  On  February 
^''  1/53'  ^1^*^  Lieutenant-(i()\ern(tr  proposed  his  introduction  as  a 
member  of  the  Provincial  council,  and  asked  the  ^g^entlemen  pres- 
ent what  place  the}-  w(juld  offer  him:  whereupon  it  was  unani- 
mously agreed  that  he  should  rank  as  first  named,  or  eldest,  coun- 
cillor, and  be  President  on  the  death  or  absence  of  the  Governor. 
His  name  first  appears  upon  the  minutes  in  August  following. 

The  Proprietaries  directed  Hamilton  to  assist  Virginia  in 
erecting  any  fort  on  the  lands  granted  to  the  Ohio  Company,  tak- 
ing, however,  from  the  Governor  of  Virginia  an  acknowledgment 
that  the  settlement  should  not  prejudice  the  Proprietaries"  right  to 
the  country,  and  a  promise  that  those  who  actually  settled  should 
hold  the  land  on  the  usual  quit  rent.  On  tales  of  the  approach  of  a 
French  army  toward  the  Ohio,  (Governor  Dinwiddie  of  Virginia 
suggested  that  all  the  colonies  raise  a  proper  force  to  oppose  it. 
and  notify  the  British  ministry,  after  first  demanding  the  reason 
for  such  invasion  in  time  of  peace  from  the  Governor-General  of 
Canada.  The  Earl  of  Holdernesse,  Secretary  of  State,  on  Au- 
gust 28.  1753,  communicated  royal  instructions  that  if  any  for- 
eign prince  or  state  made  encroachments,  erected  forts,  or  com- 
mitted any  other  act  of  hostility,  and  persisted  after  a  representa- 
tion of  such  injustice,  force  was  to  he  repelled  by  force,  but  only 
"within  the  undoul)ted  limits  of  His  Majesty's  dominions."  All 
the  go\ernors  on  the  C()ntinent  were  to  c«)mmunicate  with  and 
support  each  other. 

The  brcnch  built  a  fort  at  Casoago,  on  b^-ench  creek,  near 
Venango,  and  returned  a  contemptuous  answer  to  the  Half-King, 
who  went  in  person  from  his  home  at  Logstown  to  warn  them  off 
the  land.  He  was  giving  the  third  message,  as  usual,  before  tak- 
ing up  the  hatchet.     The  Rc\.   Richard  Peters.  Isaac  Xorris  and 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

Benjamin  Franklin,  appcjinted  1)y  the  ( Joxernor  of  Pennsyhania. 
met  in  September  at  Carlisle  a  niimljcr  of  tlie  important  chiefs  of 
the  Six  Nations,  Delawares,  Shawanees,  Twightees,  and  Owen- 
dats,  on  their  way  from  a  council  with  the  Governor  of  Virginia 
at  Winchester.  Friendship  was  confirmed  and  presents  distrib- 
uted. Scarrooyady,  the  Oneida,  said  he  supposed  that  Governor 
Dinwiddie's  desire  to  build  a  fort  on  the  Ohio  was  the  cause  of 
the  advance  of  the  French  troops,  and  hoped  that  both  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Virginia  would  forbear  at  present  from  settling  beyond 
the  Alleghanies,  advising  that  Pennsylvania  call  back  her  people, 
and  duly  appoint  somebody  to  meet  George  Croghan,  who  was  to 
be  the  agent  on  behalf  of  the  Indians,  and  to  whose  house  at 
Aughwick.  on  the  Juniata,  anything  for  them  could  be  sent. 
Scarrooyady  also  said  that  the  French  had  been  afraid  of  losing 
their  trade  from  the  unnecessary  number  of  English  traders  on 
the  Ohio ;  and  he  asked  that  the  traders  be  only  in  three  places — 
Logstown,  and  the  mouth  of  the  Kanawha,  and  the  mouth  of  Mo- 
nongahela ;  he  also  represented  that  the  English  goods  were  too 
dear,  and  little  else  was  brought  to  them  but  liquor  and  flour, 
which,  he  begged,  would  be  regulated,  as  the  whisky  traders 
brought  thirty  or  forty  kegs,  made  the  Indians  drunk,  and  got  all 
the  skins  with  which  the  debts  to  the  honest  traders  were  to  be 
paid.  Dinwiddie  sent  George  Washington,   then  twenty-one 

years  old,  witli  the  rank  of  major  in  the  military  organization  of 
Virginia,  to  ha\'e  an  interview  with  the  commandant  of  the  other 
fort  whicli  the  French  had  built,  viz. :  on  that  branch  of  the  Alle- 
gheny which  they  called  La  Riviere  aux  Bceufs  (in  the  present 
Warren  county).  Tlie  commandant,  Le  Gardeur  de  St.  Pierre,  sent 
Dinwiddie's  letter  to  La  Galisonniere's  successor,  the  Marquis 
Duquesne  but  told  \\'ashington  tliat  the  country  belonged  to 
tiiem ;  no  Enghshman  had  a  right  to  trade  upon  the  Ohio  or  its 
branches — and  he  had  orders  to  arrest  any  that  attempted  to  do  so. 
\\'illiam  Trent,  captain  in  the  Virginia  service,  directed  a  fort  to 
be  made  at  the  forks  of  the  Monongahela :  Governor  Dinwiddie 
420 


Plan  of  Fort  Augusta 


Near  Sunbury;  erected  in  1756.  Photographed 
especially  for  this  work  from  a  copy  in  posses- 
sion of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Cieological 
Society 


The   French   Invasion 

summoned  liis  militia  to  meet  at  Will's  creek,  and  tlie  Lords  of 
Trade  recjuested  the  Provinces  of  \^irginia,  Pennsylvania.  Mary- 
land, Xew  Hampshire.  Massachusetts  Bay.  and  New  Jersey  to  send 
commissioners  with  presents  to  the  treaty  which  the  l^'ovince  of 
New  ^'ork  was  to  hold  with  the  Indians.  The  riovernor  of  New 
York  hxed  the  middle  of  June  as  the  time  and  Alhany  as  the  place 
for  the  treaty.  The  Assemhly  of  Pennsylvania  passed  a  hill  to 
issue  40.000/.  in  hills  of  credit  on  loans;  Hamilton  offered,  if  the 
memhers  were  still  of  opinion  that  hills  of  credit  were  necessary 
tu  raise  supplies  in  this  time  of  imminent  danger,  to  agree  to  such, 
if  a  means  of  sinking  them  in  a  few  years  were  provided.  Just  at 
this  time  persons  from  Connecticut,  representing  a  Susquehanna 
company  formed  there,  attempted  to  sell  lands  north  of  the  41st 
degree  of  latitude,  as  heing  emhraced  in  the  old  patent  to  that  col- 
ony, and  announced  that  settlements  would  shortly  1)e  made  at 
Wyoming,  on  the  east  hranch  of  the  Susquehanna.  Governor 
Dinwiddie,  also,  upon  obtaining  10,000/.  from  his  House  of  Bur- 
gesses for  troops,  issued  a  proclamation  offering,  in  addition  to 
the  pay  of  those  who  served  to  the  satisfaction  of  tlicir  officers, 
shares  in  200,000  acres  of  land.  100,000  contiguous  to  the  fort  at 
the  forks  of  Monongahela,  and  100,000  near  by,  on  the  east  bank 
of  the  Ohio,  to  be  free  from  quit  rents  for  fifteen  years.  Hamil- 
ton was  dulv  ])rotesting  against  both  attempts  to  take  from  the 
Penns  slices  of  their  i)rovince;  while  his  Assembly  was  using  the 
uncertaintv  of  the  bounds  as  an  excuse  for  not  supporting  mili- 
tarv  measures.  Governor  W'olcott  of  Connecticut  expressed  him- 
self as  satisfied  that  his  province  wanted  no  (|uarrel  with  Penn- 
sylvania, and  highly  ap])roved  of  Hamilton's  offer  to  procure  for 
emigrants  fmni  C"i  >nnecticut  grants  from  the  l'roi)rictarics  of 
.some  of  their  western  land;  and  Governor  Dinwiddie,  holing  that 
soon  there  would  be  commissrtjners  apjiointed  b\-  the  King  to  run 
the  line,  as  he  had  re<|uested.  .said  that  meanwhile  the  (|uit  rents 
due  after  the  exenii)tion  fr<im  them  should  have  expired,  could  be 
paid  to  the  Penns. 

423 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

A  small  \nv{  haviiii;-  been  ereeted  at  the  forks  of  the  ]\Iohon- 
giola,  or  Alonongahela,  by  Ensign  Ward,  of  Tn-ent's  company, 
Contreconr,  commander  of  the  French  troops  on  the  Ohio,  ap- 
peared \vith  1,000  men  and  uS  cannon,  and  compelled  its  snrrender 
on  April  16,  allowing  Ward  and  his  men  to  retire.  They  fell 
back  to  Red  Stone  creek.  Starting  from  Will's  creek  with  150 
men,  and  widening  the  road  as  they  went  so  as  to  be  passable  for 
cannon,  Washington  arri\ed  at  Great  Meadows  (in  Fayette  coun- 
ty), and  constructed  an  entrenchment,  which  he  called  Fort  Ne- 
cessity. Dinwiddie  had  supplied  some  friendly  Indians  with 
arms,  and  sent  a  belt  with  a  hatchet  by  Trent  to  Scarrooyady. 
According  to  the  hitter's  story  of  the  affair  which  followed  on 
May  28,  he  and  some  braves  fell  in  with  LaForce  and  thirty 
Frenchmen,  and  refused  to  hold  a  council  with  them,  but  in- 
formed Washington.  Differing  with  him  as  to  strategy,  the 
Indians  went  away,  but  soon  found  the  French  in  a  hollow  and 
hid  themselves  behind  a  hill,  when  they  noticed  Washington's 
force  on  the  other  side  of  the  hollow  in  the  gray  light  of  the  morn- 
ing. He  had  started  out  in  the  night  of  the  27th.  Washington's 
force  began  firing,  when  the  Indians  came  from  their  cover,  and 
closed  with  the  French,  killing  ten  and  handing  twenty-one  pris- 
oners to  Washington.  Among  those  killed  was  Jumonville,  the 
leader,  who.  the  iM-ench  said,  was  bearer  of  a  mes.sage.  and  whose 
death  they  called  an  assassination.     LaForce  was  taken  prisoner. 

Governor  Shirley  of  Massachusetts,  who  had  offered  to  assist 
Pennsylvania  in  driving  the  French  from  her  territory,  (mi  condi- 
tion that  Pennsylvania  should  some  day  reciprocate,  suggested 
that  the  congress  at  Albany  should  be  seized  as  the  opportunity 
for  effecting  a  union  of  the  participating  colonies,  the  commis- 
sioners to  be  empowered  to  fix  the  quota  of  men  and  money  to  be 
furnished  by  each  for  the  measures  they  might  agree  upon.  But 
Governor  Hamilton  could  not  obtain  from  his  Assembly  authority 
or  appropriation  except  for  renewing  the  covenant  chain  with  the 
Indians  and   holding  them   in   the  British   interest.      John    I'enn 

424 


The   French   Invasion 

and  Jvicliard  Peters.  Cdiincillnrs,  and  Isaac  Xorris  and  Benjamin 
Franklin,  assem])lymen,  represented  Pennsylvania  at  the  con- 
gress, which  l)egan  its  session  June  19,  1754.  On  the  way, 
Franklin  drew  up  a  plan  for  the  union  of  the  colonies,  which,  with 
a  few  amendments,  was  unaninmusl}-  adopted,  and  rec(jmmended 
to  the  various  assemblies  and  the  Lords  Commissi(jners  of  Trade 
and  Plantations.  It  provided  for  a  central  government,  to  be 

administered  by  a  president-general,  appointed  by  the  Crown,  and 
a  grand  council  of  forty-eight  representatives  chosen  by  the  Colo- 
nial Assemblies,  Virginia  and  ^Massachusetts  each  to  have  the 
largest  number,  seven,  and  Penns}]\ania  six.  The  President- 
General,  with  the  advice  of  the  council,  was  to  make  peace  or  de- 
clare war  with  the  Indians,  raise  soldiers,  build  forts,  and  levy 
taxes.  Idiis  i)lan  was  never  brought  before  the  King  or  Parlia- 
ment. Hamilton  told  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  that  it  was 
"well  worthy  of  their  closest  and  most  serious  attention,"  but, 
one  da}-,  when  h'ranklin  was  absent,  it  was  taken  up  and  i)romptly 
rejected.  The  congress  at  Albany,  however,  established  peace 
with  the  Six  Nations,  and  then  made  a  lengthy  rejjresentation 
on  the  state  of  the  colonies,  setting  forth  the  dominion  of 
(ireat  Britain  over  the  country  south  of  Lakes  Champlain.  On- 
tario, and  Frie.  as  l)elonging  to  the  Six  Nations,  with  right  in 
Frenchmen  to  \isit  it  for  trading,  also  the  French  aggressions  in 
Nova  Scotia,  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  and  on  the  rivers  running 
into  the  Mississippi,  and  their  holding  English  traders  for  ran- 
som, and  alienating  many  of  the  Onondagas  and  Senecas  from 
the  English,  and  the  danger  of  the  whole  continent  being  sub- 
jected to  France.  The  representation  also  pointed  out  that  the 
colonics  were  disunited,  and  there  had  never  been  any  joint  exer- 
tion of  their  force  or  counsels:  that  the  patenting  of  large  tracts 
of  land  to  indixiduals  or  companies,  except  on  condition  of  speedy 
settlement,  prevented  the  strengthening  of  the  frontiers,  and  that 
there  had  been  great  neglect  of  the  afifairs  of  the  Six  Nations;  the 
laws  of  the  various  colonies,  being  insufficient  to  restrain  the  sup- 

425 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and    lY'dcral 

plv  of  liquor,  the  Indians  were  frequently  drunk  and  cheated  hy 
traders,  or  else  murdering  one  another,  and  fleeing  to  the  French  ; 
the  Indians  were  not  capable  of  bargaining  as  to  their  lands, 
and,  on  sales  to  private  persons,  were  cheated  or  feU  themselves 
cheated.  The  representation  suggested  that  an  agent,  not  en- 
gaged in  trade,  should  reside  with  each  Indian  nation,  purchases 
of  land  from  Indians,  except  by  the  government,  should  be  void, 
the  patentees  of  large  tracts  should  be  re(|uired  to  settle  them 
speedily,  on  pain  of  forfeiture,  the  bounds  of  the  colonies  extend- 
ing by  the  terms  of  the  old  charters  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  should 
be  limited  by  the  Alleghanies,  and  measures  should  be  taken  for 
settling  colonies  of  Protestants  west  of  those  mountains,  and 
there  should  be  a  union  of  the  colonies,  so  that  their  treasure  and 
strength  might  be  employed  in  due  proportion  against  the  com- 
mon enemy.  The  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  then  sold  to  the  Pro- 
prietaries of  Pennsylvania  for  i.ooo  pieces  of  eight,  the  land  ex- 
tending on  the  west  side  of  the  Susf[uehanna  from  the  Blue  moun- 
tains to  a  mile  atove  the  mouth  of  Kayarondinhagh  (  Penn's) 
creek,  thence  northwest  by  west  to  the  western  boundary  of  the 
Province,  thence  along  the  western  boundary  to  the  southern 
boundary,  thence  along  the  southern  boundary  to  the  Blue  moun- 
tains, and  thence  along  those  mountains  to  the  place  of  beginning. 
The  deed  is  dated  July  6,  1754.  They  refused  to  sell  the  land  on 
the  east  branch  of  the  Susc[uehanna ;  they  had  heard  there  was  a 
dispute  between  Pennsylvania  and  New  England  about  it,  and 
they  would  sell  it  to  neither ;  liut  \\'yoming  and  Shamokin  and  the 
land  contiguous  on  the  river  they  would  reserve  for  a  hunting 
ground,  and  for  the  residence  of  such  of  them  as  should,  in  this 
time  of  war,  remove  from  the  French.  Accordingly,  they  ap- 
pointed John  Shickcalamy  to  take  care  of  this  land.  On  July  9 
they  confirmed  the  covenant  of  1736  to  sell  no  land  within  the 
limits  of  Pennsylvania  except  to  the  Proprietaries. 

Meanwhile  Captain   McKay,   with   an   independent  company 
from  South  Carolina,  had  reenforced  Washington  at  Fort  Neces- 

426 


The   French   Invasion 

sitv;  so  that  the  force  there  was  ahout  400  men.  On  July  3,  De 
\'illier.  of  whose  approach  they  were  ignorant  until  the  day 
before,  with  900  French  and  many  Indians,  bombarded  them  from 
eleven  in  the  morning  until  night,  when  he  offered  them  terms, 
which  they  accepted,  to  go  out  with  the  honors  of  war  the  next 
day,  lea\ing  their  cannon,  and  engaging  to  deliver  to  Fort  Du 
Ouesne  the  prisoners  taken  at  the  time  Jumonville  was  killed.  On 
hearing  of  this,  Governor  Dinwiddie  ordered  his  troops  gather- 
ing for  the  expedition  to  meet  at  Will's  creek,  and  thence  proceed 
to  recapture  the  fort ;  but,  if  that  should  be  impossible,  then  to 
build  a  fort  at  Red  Stone  creek  or  elsewhere,  as  determined  by  a 
council  of  war.  He  wrote  to  Hamilton  that  he  wished  two  or 
three  companies  from  Pennsylvania.  The  Assembly  voted  15,000/. 
to  the  King's  use  the  day  after  this  letter  was  received,  amended 
the  bill,  at  Hamilton's  request,  so  as  to  enable  his  successor  to 
receive  the  money,  and,  rejecting  all  other  amendments,  forced 
Hamilton  to  sign  the  bill,  although  it  was  pretty  much  the  same 
as  he  had  rejected  a  year  before.  The  Half-King  and  Scarroo- 
yady,  with  some  other  Indians  and  their  families,  made  their  way 
to  Croghan's  at  Auglnxick,  and  sent  messengers  to  gather  in  the 
Delawares  and  Shawanees,  asking  that  the  women  and  children 
be  supported  while  the  warriors  fought  for  the  English,  whom 
they  anxiously  expected  speedily  to  take  decisive  steps  against  the 
French.  Several  Delawares  who  had  visited  Fort  Necessity  since 
its  capture  also  arrived  at  Croghan's,  and  through  these  Robert 
Strobo,  who  had  been  left  at  Fort  Necessity  as  a  hostage,  man- 
aged to  send  letters  to  the  effect  that  100  trusty  Indians  might  be 
able  to  surprise  the  fort  by  secreting  themselves  under  the  platform 
behind  the  palisades,  as  they  had  access  to  the  fort  all  day,  and 
killing  the  guard  with  their  tomahawks  in  the  night.  Contrecour 
and  a  guard  of  40  men  and  officers  were  all  that  dwelt  in  the  fort; 
the  rest  were  in  bark  cabins  around ;  large  detachments  had  been 
sent  off,  so  the  whole  force  was  nmch  reduced.  Strobo  bravely 
asked  that  his  safety  be  not  considered.     We  do  not  know  that  the 

427 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

execution  of  the  scliome  was  attempted,  except  that  Hamilton 
wrote  to  Croghan  to  let  no  licpior  get  to  the  Indians,  to  stave  in 
every  cask,  and  furnish  the  names  of  all  who  brought  any.  Con- 
rad W'eiser  was  sent  with  300/.  to  spend  for  the  ludians"  support, 
and  keep  them  friendly.  He  found  twenty  cabins  containing  over 
200  men.  women,  and  children  at  Aughwick,  and  a  number  more 
within  a  few  miles.  He  recei\-ed  assurances  that  the  Delawares, 
Shawanees.  and  allies  were  friendl}-.  and  that  the  Shawanees, 
grateful  for  the  return  of  certain  of  their  people  imprisoned  in 
South  Carolina,  had  given  no  answer  to  the  French,  who  asked 
them  to  assist  against  the  English,  or  be  neutral ;  and  that  both 
tribes  would  await  the  orders  of  the  Six  Nations.  He  reported 
that  it  was  impossible  to  keep  the  inhabitants  of  Cumberland 
county  from  selling  liquor  to  the  Indians,  the  magistrates,  it  was 
said,  selling  the  most.  One  old  hypocrite  coming  to  Aughwick 
for  the  purpose,  it  was  supposed,  of  collecting  the  money  for 
\\  hat  he  had  sold,  said  to  Weiser  that  the  government  should  not 
let  any  liquor  be  1)rought  there.  W'eiser  asked  if  he  meant  for 
the  Governor  himself  to  come  with  his  sword  and  pistol  to  pre- 
vent it.  No,  he  did  not.  "Then,"  said  Weiser,  "there  is  no 
other  way  than  to  break  you  all  and  put  others  in  commission  who 
are  no  whisky  traders  and  will  exercise  their  authority."  Ta- 
nacharisson  complained  of  the  great  personage  of  American  his- 
tory, then  first  being  heard  of  in  England.  Washington,  a  good- 
natured  man  without  experience,  he  said,  commanded  the  Indians 
as  his  slaves,  had  them  always  out  scouting,  and  took  no  advice 
from  them,  lay  in  one  place  from  one  full  moon  to  another,  and 
made  no  fortifications  at  all,  but  "that  little  thing  on  the  Mead- 
ow ;"  had  he  made  such  fortifications  as  Tanacharisson  advised, 
he  would  ha\e  l)eaten  off  the  French  ;  the  French  had  acted  as 
great  cowards,  but  the  English  as  fools  in  that  engagement.  The 
Indians  would  wait  at  Aughwick  until  they  heard  from  the  new' 
Governor,  while  Scarrooyady  would  go  in  the  English  interest  to 
the  great  council  fire  of  tl\e  Six  Nations. 

428 


Cn     •£  >« 


^       _  n 


o 

o 


The   French   Invasion 

Hamilton  lia\iiig  asked  to  be  superseded.  Robert  Hunter 
Morris  arrived,  October  3,  from  England.  He  was  son  of  Lewis 
JMorris,  once  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  and  had  been  himself 
Chief  Justice  of  that  Province.  He  sent  a  ])olite  message  to  the 
Indians,  and  the  Assembly  enabled  him  to  assure  them  that  he 
would  maintain  their  people  left  l)ehind  while  some  of  them  went 
to  Onondaga. 

The  King  of  England,  although  ostensibly  at  peace  with 
France,  decided  to  send  two  military  expeditions  against  the  lat- 
ter's  subjects,  and  ordered  two  regiments  of  foot,  each  of  500 
men,  Ijesides  the  ot^cers.  commanded  by  Sir  Peter  Halket  and 
Thomas  Dunbar,  respectively,  to  proceed  frr)ni  Ireland  to  \''ir- 
ginia,  and  there  be  increased  to  750  men  each,  and  two  regiments 
to  be  recruited  in  America  of  i.ooo  men  each,  to  be  commanded 
by  Governor  Shirley  of  Massachusetts  and  Sir  William  Pepper- 
rell.  respectively:  towards  this  enlistment  of  ab.  ut  3.000  men 
and  sui)plying  victuals  and  necessaries  for  traveling  and  a 
common  fund  for  the  common  defense,  Pennsylvania  was  to  do 
her  share.  To  superintend  this  war  as  commander-in-chief  in 
America,  Edward  Braddock.  a  general  officer  of  reputatio-i.  was 
sent  from  England.  He  was  to  lead  Halket's  and  Dunbar's  regi- 
ments and  their  Provincial  auxiliaries  against  the  French  on  the 
Ohio,  while  Shirley  and  Pepperrell  were  to  carry  on  campaigns 
elsewhere.  It  had  been  suggested  that  a  certain  American  gov- 
ernor, recommended  for  his  integrity,  who,  we  suppose,  was  Din- 
widdie,  should  command  the  expedition  against  the  Ohio,  but 
King  George  II  said :  "A  little  more  ability  and  a  little  less  hon- 
esty upon  the  present  occasion  may  serve  our  turn  better.''  Shir- 
ley's son,  shortly  l>efore  losing  his  life  as  Braddock's  secretary, 
thought  it  a  pity  that  such  a  \iew  had  not  been  applied  to  the  case 
of  the  very  honest  Braddock. 

Scarrooyady  came  to  Philadelphia,  his  heart  set  on  war.  and 
arranged  for  a  meeting  of  the  Six  Xations  at  Winchester  in  the 
spring.      Before  he  left.  John  Shickcalamy's  lielt  from  Shamokin 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

arrived  with  a  message  that  \\hite  people  from  the  other  side  of 
X^ew  York  were  coming  to  settle  on  land  at  \\'yoming  and  north 
of  the  Western  branch,  over  which  the  Six  Nations  at  the  treaty 
at  Albany  had  given  hini  charge,  and  that  the  strangers  claimed 
to  ha\e  bonght  it  from  the  Six  Nations  since  the  treaty.  Scar- 
rooyady  was  thereupon  intrusted  with  a  further  message  to 
the  Six  Nations  to  the  effect  that  if  they  had  actually  sold  these 
lands  it  was  a  breach  of  faith.  Some  ])eople  then  bevond  the 
mountains  in  Northampton  county  took  shares  in  the  Connecticut 
adventure;  but  on  the  other  hand  Governor  Fitch  of  Connecticut 
disavowed  any  authorization  for  it.  Al)out  300  Indians  of  the 
Six  Nations  on  the  Ohio  had  tied  from  the  French  to  the  branches 
of  the  Susquehanna,  and  these  sent  word  that  thev  would  kill  the 
cattle  of  any  whites  who  settled  there,  and  if  the  latter  still  re- 
mained, would  treat  them  as  enemies  and  destroy  them.  Hen- 
drick  Peter,  chief  of  the  IMohawks.  came  to  Philadeljihia.  and 
planned  a  general  council  between  the  Six  Nations  and  the  gov- 
ernment of  Connecticut  to  destroy  the  fraudulent  deed  under 
which  the  intruders  claimed.  He  complained  of  bad  treatment 
in  the  matter  of  land  by  the  government  of  New  York,  and  told 
how  liberal  the  French  were  to  the  Indians,  so  much  so  as  to  have 
made  some  division  in  the  Six  Nations:  Ijut  he  and  his  compan- 
ions, on  leaving  Philadelphia,  gave  hearty  thanks  for  the  enter- 
tainments and  kindness  which  they  had  received,  declaring  that 
the  people  of  Pennsylvania  had  treated  them  like  brothers  and  sis- 
ters, and  that  the  Governor  could  depend  upon  the  fidelity  of  the 
Alohawks  for  counsel  or  action. 

Two  hundred  Pennsylvanians  soon  enlisted  in  the  regiment 
of  Governor  Shirley,  and  the  Assem1:)ly.  on  the  rejection  of  its 
first  bill  to  raise  25.000/..  intrusted  a  committee  W'ith  5.000/., 
raised  by  negotiating  drafts  bearing  interest  against  the  money 
due  the  Province,  so  as  to  purchase  all  the  flour  required  for  the 
army  expected  at  \\'iirs  creek,  where  Colonel  Junes  had  made  a 
fort.     Sir  John  St.  Clair,  a  Scotch  baronet,  the  quartermaster,  had 


The  French   Invasion 


already  arrived  in  America.  Some  years  after  tliis  lie  married  Miss 
Moland  of  Pliiladelj)liia.  The  Assembly,  however,  was  not  dis- 
posed to  lay  a  tax  which  wmld  ])ay  off  the  necessary  bills  of  credit 
in  five  years,  nor  would  it  g-rant  40.000/.  in  bills  of  credit  for  the 
raisino-  of  troops,  both  jiropositions  l)einq-  made  bv  the  T.ieiiten- 


House  of  Conrad  Wciscr.  Reading 

lingraved  especially  for  this  work  from  a  photo- 
graph in  possession  of  Dr.   W.  J.  Holland 

ant-(  ioxernor  and  suijported  by  I'rankhn.  Twenty-five  thousand 
pounds  were  \()ted.  but  only  5.000/.  were  suljjected  to  ( ieneral 
I'.raddock's  order,  the  balance  to  l)e  applied  by  a  committee  of 
the  House  in  the  tollow  ini;'  manner:  5,000/.  for  jjrovisions  for  the 
f(jrces  in  X'irginia,  10,000/.  for  provisions  for  the  forces  in  New 
England,  and  5,000/.  for  subsistence  of  the  refugee  Indians,  clear- 
ing of  roads,  hire  of  carriages,  and  other  contingent  e.xpenses. 

'— ^  433 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

Morris  declared  that  to  give  the  disposition  of  the  public  money 
to  members  of  the  Assembly  would  be  inconsistent  with  his  duty 
to  the  Crown,  and  he  would  show  the  bill  to  his  snperi(^rs  in  Lon- 
don. The  Assembly  decided  in  its  turn  to  appeal  to  His  Alaj- 
esty.  and  sent  over  to  England  a  representation  of  the  case. 

To  raise  without  delay  the  money  necessary  at  this  time  of 
imminent  danger,  the  Assembly  appointed  certain  persons  to 
draw  drafts  to  the  amount  of  10,000/.  on  the  provincial  treas- 
urer or  trustees  of  the  loan  office,  payable  in  one  }-ear,  with  inter- 
est, and  apply  these,  or,  in  fact,  the  proceeds  of  negotiating  these, 
to  the  King"'s  use.  But  the  intention  of  the  British  govern- 
ment was  to  have  a  common  fund  established  by  contributions 
from  all  the  colonies,  out  of  which  the  additional  men  for  Halket's 
and  Dunbar's  regiments  and  those  in  Xova  Scotia,  should  be  pn^- 
vided  for.  The  Assembly  told  Morris,  on  May  20,  that,  while 
the  bill  he  had  rejected  had  given  Braddock  the  disposal  of  5,000/. 
and  appropriated  the  whole  25,000/.  for  the  army's  benefit,  no 
other  colony,  could  the  members  learn,  had  offered  him  power  over 
as  many  pence  as  they  had  pounds ;  and  that  they  could  not  look 
upon  the  Governor  as  a  friend  to  his  country  while  he  was  "en- 
deavoring to  render  the  inhabitants  of  Pennsvlvania  odious  to 
our  gracious  sovereign  and  his  ministers,  to  the  British  nation,  to 
all  the  neighboring-  colonies,  and  to  the  army  that  is  come  to  pro- 
tect us."  British  officers  were  much  stirred  up  against  the  colony. 
Sir  John  St.  Clair  met  the  commissioners  appointed  by  Morris  to 
lay  out  the  roads  from  Carlisle  to  the  three  forks  of  the  Yough- 
iogheny  and  to  Will's  creek,  and,  the  commissioners  said,  "stormed 
like  a  Hon  rampant."  He  declared  that  they  shcnild  have  been 
appointed  to  the  work  in  January,  the  want  of  this  road  and  of 
the  provisions  promised  by  Pennsylvania  had  retarded  the  ex- 
pedition, and  cost  man}-  lives,  because  of  the  fresh  numbers  of 
French  likely  to  arrive;  for  his  part  he  would,  instead  of  march- 
ing to  the  Ohio,  march  in  nine  days  into  Cumberland  County, 
and  by  fire  and  sword  force  the  inhal)itants  to  make  roads,  and 

434 


'J"hc    French    Invasion 

would  seize  horses  and  wai^ons,  etc.:  he  waild  to-morrow  write 
to  England,  and  shake  Mr.  Penn's  I'roprietaryship,  etc.  Ben- 
jamin Franklin  went  to  see  Braddock  to  disabuse  his  mind  as  to 
the  Asseml)]y.  and.  meeting  him  at  Frederick,  Maryland,  suc- 
ceeded. Then  J^anklin  heard  that  there  had  been  collected  only 
-5  wagons  when  150  were  required,  to  transport  the  stores,  bag- 
gage, etc.  Braddock  and  his  officers  were  in  despair.  Franklin 
said  it  was  a  pity  that  the  troops  had  not  been  landed  in  Penn- 
sylvania, where  every  farmer  had  his  wagon.  Braddock  at  once 
begged  Franklin,  as  a  man  of  influence  thereto  procure  what  was 
indispensable.  Franklin  went  to  Lancaster,  published  an  offer 
of  i^s.  a  da\-  for  each  wagon  with  a  drix'er  and  four  horses,  and 
2s.  a  dav  for  each  horse  with  a  pack  saddle  or  other  saddle,  and 
i8(/.  for  a  horse  without  a  saddle,  all  to  be  at  Will's  creek  by 
Mav  20.  seven  days'  pay  to  be  advanced,  if  desired,  at  the  time 
of  hiring,  the  drivers  not  to  serve  as  soldiers.  Franklin  stayed 
several  days  in  Lancaster  and  two  days  in  York  to  receive  offers; 
his  son  attending  to  the  offers  in  Cuml)erland  County.  A  let- 
ter signed  by  that  wonderful  man  showed  the  people  of  the  back 
counties  that  here  was  a  chance  for  obtaining  a  large  amount  of 
gold  and  silver  currency  for  easy  work  by  those  who  served  in  it, 
and  that  if  this  plan  did  not  succeed  in  fourteen  days,  the  General 
would  be  notified  and  the  soldiers  would  seize  the  best  carriages 
and  horses,  and.  perhaps,  w'ithout  compensation.  The  wagons 
were  secured.  The  owners  said  that  they  did  not  know  Brad- 
dock, but  would  take  Franklin's  bond.  At  his  suggestion,  more- 
over, the  committee  of  the  Assembly  sent  twenty  packs  of  gro- 
ceries on  horses  to  as  many  subaltern  officers,  these  arriving  as 
soon  as  the  wagons.  Rev.  Richard  Peters,  secretary  of  the  Gov- 
ernr)r"s  Council,  wln'  went  {>>  hurry  the  construction  of  the  roads, 
found  108  men  at  work,  but  the  commissioners  discouraged  for 
want  of  cash,  "rum  and  carriage"  being  too  high,  he  agreed  for 
what  was  necessary  at  moderate  prices.  He  ordered  the  road 
to  be  cut  no  wider  than  twelve  feet,  and  only  the  one  to  the  forks 

435 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

to  be  pushed,  and  told  Braddock  tliat  he  must  furnish  an  escort 
to  protect  tlie  men,  who  could  not  be  kept  together  a  single  day 
in  case  of  any  alarm  from  Indians;  moreover,  the  General  would 
find  his  own  march  difficult,  if  Indians  were  induced  by  the 
French  to  annoy  him,  and,  against  them,  he  would  be  unable  to 
reach  Fort  I)u(|uesne  without  a  body  of  Indian  allies  and  several 
companies  of  rangers,  both  foot  and  mounted.  Braddock  de- 
spised this  fear  of  Indians,  and  said  that  the  Province  might, 
but  he  could  not,  send  men  to  protect  the  road  cutters.  At  that 
time,  the  troops  were  short  of  provisions ;  in  the  tents  of  the 
officers  Peters  saw  no  butter  and  little  fresh  meat,  and  the  Gen- 
eral's own  fare  was  scanty,  and  his  beef  was  not  sweet.  Scar- 
rooyady  and  about  forty  Indians  were  at  camp,  mad  at  not  being 
consulted,  and  with  trouble  likely  to  arise  from  the  scandalous 
behavior  of  the  officers  with  the  squaws;  so  that  Peters  induced 
Braddock  to  send  the  Indian  women  home,  and  to  forbid  their 
presence  in  future.  All  but  seven  warriors  left  to  escort  these 
to  Aughwick ;  and,  when  the  army  had  gotten  off,  and  murders 
along  Will's  creek  began,  it  was  suspected  that,  not  the  French 
Indians,  to  whom  they  were  attributed,  but  these  friendly  Indians 
committed  them.  The  General  sent,  moreover,  the  soldiers' 
wives  into  Pennsylvania,  to  be  supported  by  the  Province,  except 
so  far  as  one-third  of  the  husbands'  pay  would  suffice. 

On  June  6,  there  having  been  no  rain  for  two  or  three  months, 
as  well  as  in  view  of  the  starting  of  Braddock's  expedition,  Gov- 
ernor Morris  appointed  June  19  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer. 
The  army  left  Will's  creek  on  June  14,  and  in  two  days 
reached  Little  Aleadows,  whither  St.  Clair  and  Major  Chapman 
had  preceded  them,  erecting  a  fort  there.  On  the  advice  of 
Washington,  who  was  serving  as  one  of  Braddock's  military  fam- 
ily, the  Cjeneral  determined  to  make  haste  with  1,200  chosen  men 
under  Sir  Peter  Halket,  Lieut. -Col.  Gage,  Lieut.-Col.  Burton 
and  Major  .Sparks,  with  only  such  wagons  as  were  necessary;  St. 
Clair  starting  with  one-third  the  force  on  the  17th,  and  Braddock 


George  II 


King  of  lingland   irv 


m    I7J7   iL.   1760 


Tlic   Frcncli   Invasion 

with  800  men  the  next  day.  leaving  to  follow  them  some  days 
later  Colonel  Dunbar,  Major  Chapman,  and  the  residue  of  the 
two  regiments  with  some  independent  companies,  women,  etc. 
From  (Governor  Sharpe's  letter  we  learn  that  before  June  22,  the 
advance  guard  disco^•ered  a  small  body  of  French,  who  captured 
Scarrooyady.  but  on  the  troops  coming  up  fell  back  and  let  him 
escape.  From  l^^dward  Shippen's  letter  we  learn  that  St.  Clair 
beat  off  200  or  300  French  Indians.  The  1,200,  "halting  to 
level  every  mole  hill  and  erect  bridges  over  every  brook,"  made 
onlv  twelve  miles  in  four  davs.  Washington,  who  was  too  sick 
to  go  on  horseback,  was  left  behind,  but  rejoined  Braddock  on 
July  8.  On  the  9th  this  force,  largely  of  regular  troops,  was 
attacked  by  250  French  and  650  Indians,  just  after  it  hail 
crossed  the  Monongahela,  the  second  time  that  day,  about 
seven  miles  from  Fort  DuQuesne.  The  British  army  was  in 
three  divisions.  The  first,  of  300  men  with  two  cannon,  had 
been  sent  across  the  river  under  Thomas  Gage,  then  Lieutenant- 
Colonel,  afterwards  the  celebrated  General,  to  secure  the  house 
and  plantation  of  James  Frazier,  a  trader,  not  far  from  a  run 
named  after  him.  On  finding  the  river  muddy.  Gage  suspected 
that  it  had  just  been  crossed  by  the  enemy,  and.  on  crossing,  he 
found  many  footprints ;  so  he  warned  Braddock,  although  pos- 
sessing himself  of  the  plantation  without  opposition.  The  sec- 
ond division,  being  the  road  makers,  200  strong,  under  St.  Clair, 
was  closely  following,  and  the  remaining  800  under  Braddock 
himself  with  the  artillery  had  made  the  crossing,  when  Gage's 
300.  ascending  a  hill  at  a  ])lace  where  a  ravine  on  each  side  con- 
cealed the  foe,  were  suddenly  fired  at  from  behind  trees  and 
bushes.  There  are  various  accounts  of  the  liattle.  If  the  reader 
takes  U])  that  written  by  Orme.  the  aid-de-camp,  and  published 
bv  the  Historical  Societv  of  Pennsylvania,  let  it  be  rcmcmb.ered 
that  Orme's  influence  over  his  General  was  blamed  for  the  result. 
When  the  British  returned  the  enemy's  fire.  100  Canadian  militia- 
men, being  nearly  half  the  whites  at  the  attack,  ran  away,  crying 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

"Sauve  qui  pent."  and  lieaded  by  two  cadets.  Rraddock  hurried 
forward  with  Burton  and  400  men,  while  at  the  third  volley  of 
musketry,  Beaujeu,  the  French  commander,  was  killed,  and  with 
the  bringing  of  cannon  into  play,  the  savages  retired  from  within 
range.  Dumas  ordered  them  to  attack  on  the  flank.  Charles 
Langlade  led  them.  The  British  found  themselves  assailed  from 
nearly  all  directions,  their  fire  apparentl_\-  making  no  impression, 
the  enemy  apparently  in  vast  numbers,  their  own  officers  fall- 
ing. Those  familiar  with  Indian  warfare  wished  to  distribute 
themselves  among  the  trees,  but  Braddock  would  not  permit  it, 
even  striking  some  of  them  with  his  sword  and  calling  them  cow- 
ards. His  secretary.  Governor  Shirley's  son,  was  killed,  two 
of  his  aids-de-camp  were  wounded.  Washington,  his  other 
aid-de-camp,  had  two  horses  shot  under  him,  and  four  bullet 
holes  in  his  coat.  St.  Clair  was  wounded.  Halket,  who  had 
command  of  the  rear  well  posted,  Orme  says,  around  the  bag- 
gage, was  killed,  and  his  men  ran  back  in  confusion.  The 
wagoneers.  separating  the  horses  they  mounted  from  the  rest  of 
the  teams,  abandoned  everything.  The  provincial  soldiers  be- 
haved very  well.  The  French  captured  the  artillery,  and  the 
English  recaptured  it,  but  could  not  bring  it  away  owing  to  the 
loss  of  the  horses.  The  regulars,  however,  in  the  confusion, 
half  the  time  seeing  no  enemy,  became  panic  stricken,  gathering 
into  groups  and  firing  at  friend  and  foe  alike  before  precipitate 
flight,  nor  could  they  be  rallied  to  save  the  lighter  things.  The 
officers,  united  in  squads  or  else  singly,  advanced  against  the 
enemy,  as  an  example  to  the  common  soldiers;  but  only  sacri- 
ficed themselves.  In  the  course  of  three  hours  sixty  officers 
were  killed  or  wounded.  Braddock  himself  was  mortally 
wounded.  His  money,  papers,  and  letters  were  among  the  loot 
secured  by  the  victors.  Only  about  300  sound  men  remained  to 
retreat  and  unite  with  Dunbar,  who.  impeded  with  the  heavy 
baggage,  was  in  camp  forty  miles  behind.  Braddock  was  car- 
ried to  Great  Meadows,  where  he  died  on  the  13th.     Before  day- 

440 


The   French   Invasion 

break  his  bod)-  was  buried.  \\'ashingt(»n  reading  the  burial  serv- 
ice. Dunl)ar  did  not  feel  strong  enougli  to  confront  the  enemy, 
and  so.  after  destroying  his  ammunition  and  most  of  his  pro- 
visions, moved  back  to  Fort  Cumberland  ;  and  the  lOO  men  guard- 
ing those  emi)l<>\"ed  in  cuttinfj  tlu-  v-ui]  were  notified  to  make  no 


Chimney  Rocks 

Blair  County  :  said  to  liave  been  a  resort  of  Cliief 
Logan  and  his   Indians 

further  advance,  but  join  him  at  tlie  same  fort.  Thus  the  coun- 
try west  of  the  Alleghanies  was  left  to  the  French  and  their  In- 
dian allies,  who  were  free,  moreover,  to  reinforce  those  who  were 
.opposing  the  English  expedition  to  Niagara.  Greater  still  was 
the  dismay  when  Dunbar  decided  to  take  the  remains  of  the  two 
regiments  to  Philadelphia  and  spend  the  winter  there.  Leaving 
the  independent  companies  to  garrison  the  fort  and  take  care  of 
400  wounded,  he  with  1,200  men.  an  ample  army  in  those  days 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

to  protect  the  frontier,  started  for  the  safest  part  of  the  Province, 
against  the  protest  of  the  Go^•ernnr  and  Assembly,  and  with  the 
population  west  of  the  Siisc|uchanna  forsaking  their  liouses  and 
unusually  good  crops. 

Morris,  finding  that  the  Assembly,  in  raising  money  for  de- 
fence, was  likely  to  tax  the  Proprietary  estates,  thought  he  might 
create  some  popularit}-  for  his  superiors,  as  well  as  promote  re- 
cruiting, by  offering  land  as  an  additional  encouragement  to 
those  who  would  enlist  in  an  expedition  against  the  French  on  the 
Ohio:  he  therefore  sent  a  message  to  the  Assembly  <  n  July  20, 
promising  1,000  acres  to  a  colonel,  750  to  a  lieutenant-colonel, 
500  to  a  captain,  400  to  a  lieutenant  or  ensign,  and  200  to  a  com- 
mon soldier,  on  condition  of  settlement  in  three  years  after  the 
removal  of  the  French,  to  be  free  of  quit  rent  for  fifteen  years 
from  March  i,  1756.  Alorris,  after  starting  a  fort  at  Carlisle 
and  another  at  Shippensburg,  and  forming  four  companies  of 
militia,  wrote  to  Dunbar  and  to  Governor  Shirley,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded Braddock  as  commander-in-chief,  asking  that  such  troops 
as  were  not  needetl  at  Fort  Cumberland  be  posted  at  Carlisle, 
Shippensburg,  and  McDowell's  ]\[ill,  at  which  last  named  place 
the  new  road  to  the  Alleghanies  began.  The  Assembly  passed  a 
bill  on  August  5,  to  raise  50,000/.  for  the  King's  use  by  a  tax  for 
two  years  of  I2d.  yearly  per  /.  on  all  estates,  real  and  personal, 
and  20^.  yearly  per  head  on  all  taxables.  Morris  proposed  an 
amen<lment  exempting  the  Proprietary  estates.  The  Assembly 
asked  whether  he  was  restricted  by  the  Proprietaries'  instructions 
against  passing  the  bill  as  it  stood,  or  he  himself  was  of  opinion 
that  the  amendment  was  right.  Morris  replied  that  his  com- 
mission contained  a  proviso  that  he  should  not  have  power  to  do 
or  consent  to  an  act  whereby  the  estate  or  property  of  the  Pro- 
prietaries might  be  hurt  or  incumbered ;  therefore  he  deemed  that 
any  law  contrary  to  such  proviso  would  be  void;  he,  moreover, 
would  have  thought  it  his  duty  to  have  the  estates  exempted,  be- 
cause,  1st,  all  Governors  hereditary  or  otherwise  were  exempt; 

442 


The   French   Invasion 

2nd,  a  law  of  the  Province  expressly  declared  such  estates  not 
liable  for  rates  and  taxes ;  3rd,  the  Proprietaries  having  by  their 
Governor  consented  to  a  law  vesting  in  the  people  the  choice  of 
persons  to  assess  and  lay  taxes  in  the  several  counties,  without 
reserving  any  negative  over  such  choice,  it  would  be  unreason- 
able to  empower  such  persons  to  tax  these  estates  at  discretion  ; 
4th,  to  tax  them  was  contrary  to  the  general  practice  in  such 
governments.  The  reader  would  doubtless  agree  with  the 
Assembly's  declaiming  against  the  injustice,  had  we  space  to 
make  extracts  from  its  well  prepared  messages.  The  law  of  the 
province  then  in  force  exempting  the  estates,  concerned  levies  for 
paying  assemblymen's  wages  and  rewards  for  killing  wolves, 
crows,  and  foxes  and  other  purposes  more  immediately  for  the 
benefit  of  the  inhabitants.  As  to  what  seems  the  strongest  point 
made  by  Morris,  that  the  Proprietaries  had  no  voice  in  choosing 
the  assessors,  the  latter,  it  was  shown,  were  bound  by  oath  or 
affirmation  to  value  the  lands  impartially,  and  the  Proprietaries 
had  enough  officers  and  dependents  in  every  county  to  cast  a  pro- 
portion of  the  whole  vote  for  assessors  equal  to  their  proportion 
of  the  tax.  Morris  on  August  9  asked  the  Assembly  to  pass  a 
militia  law.  On  the  i6th.  as  the  treasury  was  exhausted,  Mor- 
ris told  the  Assembly  that  he  would  pass  a  bill  for  striking  any 
sum  in  paper  money  that  the  present  exigencies  might  require,  if 
such  paper  money  was  to  be  sunk  in  five  years. 

Shirley,  on  August  12,  ordered  Dunbar  to  make  a  further  at- 
tempt to  ca])ture  Fort  Duquesne  with  the  troops  he  had,  and 
such  reinforcements  as  Pennsylvania.  Maryland,  and  Virginia 
should  raise;  and,  if  successful,  after  garrisoning  it,  to  proceed 
against  Fort  Presque  Isle;  if  unsuccessful  in  both  attemi)ts,  then 
to  cover  the  frontier  of  Pennsylvania.  ]\Iorris,  on  hearing  this, 
despaired  of  raising  any  colonial  troops ;  nothing,  he  felt,  would 
be  appropriated  by  the  Assembly,  and  Maryland  and  \*irginia 
would  not  act  if  Pennsylvania  held  back;  so  he  advised  Dunbar 
to  come  to  Philadelphia,  whence  he  could  either  go  on  to  Albany. 

443 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

or,  if  the  Du(|iiesne  expedition  were  practicable,  go  easily  to  Car- 
lisle and  meet  the  reinforcements  there;  he  thoug-ht  Nia.e^ara  the 
most  important  point  to  possess. 

Dunbar  and  his  troops  spent  abt)ut  a  month  in  Philadelphia, 
receiving-  many  recruits.  By  (General  Shirley's  order  he  could 
not  accept  any  indentured  servants  who  offered  themselves. 
When,  some  time  later,  to  hasten  the  filling  up  of  certain  regi- 
ments, this  order  was  rescinded,  the  masters  complained  to  the 
Assembly,  and  the  latter  to  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  saying  that 
it  ])resumed  no  colony  on  the  continent  had  furnished  more  free 
recruits  than  Pennsylvania,  where  great  numbers  had  been  raised 
for  Shirley's  and  Pepperrell's  regiments,  for  Halket's  and  Dun- 
bar's, for  the  New  York  and  Carolina  Independent  Companies, 
for  Nova  Scotia,  and  even  for  the  West  Indies.  If  the  property 
in  the  service  of  indentured  persons  were  not  respected  the  people 
would  be  driven  to  buy  negro  slaves,  of  which  there  were  few 
here,  and  the  Province,  instead  of  growdng  by  the  increase  of 
white  inhabitants,  would  be  weakened,  as  every  slave  was  a  do- 
mestic enemv. 


444 


CHAP'JKK  XV. 
THE  REVOLT  OF  THE  DELAW  ARES 

PARKMAX  has  pointed  out  that  the  real  interests  of  the  sav- 
ages \-d\  with  the  French,  who  wished  only  to  trade,  that  is 
apart  from  their  spiritual  purposes;  whereas  the  English 
were  settlers,  who  would  huild  towns,  turn  the  land  into  farms, 
drive  away  the  game,  and  crowd  out  those  who  lived  by  hunting. 
Charles  Thomson,  afterwards  secretary  of  Congress,  who  acted  a? 
clerk  to  the  1  )elaware  king,  declared  that  the  ])urchase  made  at  Al- 
bany, as  to  which  thev  were  not  consulted,  had  thrown  the  Indians 
to  the  west  of  Pennsylvania  entirely  open  to  temptation  by  the 
French  :  for  by  it  the  lands  where  the  ShaAvanees  and  Ohio  Indians 
lived,  and  the  hunting  ground  of  the  Delaware?,  X'^anticokes,  and 
Tuteloes,  were  included,  and  those  nations  had  nothing  to  exjiect 
but  to  see  themselves  \iolently  driven,  by  the  rate  at  which  the 
English  settled,  and  reduced  to  seek  a  settlement  they  knew  not 
where. 

After  IJraddcjck's  defeat,  the  protection  of  the  frontiers  of 
Pennsylvania  being  left  to  the  inhabitants  themselves,  they  rap- 
idly formed  companie,'^.  designated  their  own  officers,  and  received 
commissions  for  them  from  Lieutenant-Governor  Morris;  and 
Scarr(X)yady  and  many  other  Indians  went  to  Shamokin  to  live, 
or  at  least  to  hunt,  during  the  ensuing  season.  An  Indian  from 
the  Ohio  warned  Croghan  that  in  his  opinion  the  Indians  would 
do  no  mischief  in  Pennsylvania  until  they  could  draw  all  the  other 
Indians  out  (jf  the  province,  and  away  f n  mi  the  Susquehanna,  as 

445 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

they  were  industriously  endeavoring  to  do.  and  that  when  he 
should  see  those  on  the  Susquehanna  go  back  to  the  Olho,  then 
to  look  out  f(ir  his  scalp.  It  was  f(umd  that  Shawanees  and 
Delawares  had  been  ravaging  the  neighborhood  of  Fort  Cuml^er- 
land  on  both  sides  of  the  Potomac.  In  the  middle  of  October  two 
]''rench  Indians  of  the  Conewago  tribe  were  seen  near  Shamokin. 
A  few  evenings  after  this,  a  "Pennsylvania  Dutch"  woman,  on 
her  ^^•a^'  from  there  to  her  home  on  Mahanoy,  or  Penn's,  Creek, 
saw  two  persons  lying  by  the  door  of  a  neighbor's  house  murdered 
and  scalped.  Several  Dutch  families,  hearing  this,  left  their  hal)i- 
tations  immediately.  When  it  was  found  that  about  thirteen 
men  and  older  women  had  been  murdered,  and  tw-elve  women 
and  chikhxn  carried  into  captivity,  one  wounded  man  escaping, 
terror  drove  aw'ay  nearly  all  the  people  living  for  miles  about  the 
creek,  seventeen  men,  however,  petitioning  the  (iovernor  for  guns 
and  ammunition,  with  which  to  make  a  stand.  A  party  of  forty 
set  out  from  lower  down  the  Susriuehanna  to  bury  the  dead,  not 
knowing  that  others  had  done  so.  and  were  informed  by  Shick- 
calamy  that  a  great  body  of  French  and  Indians  had  been  seen  on 
its  way  into  the  province  at  a  place  where  the  Northwest  Branch 
passes  through  the  Alleghanies.  Shickcalamy  urged  a  consulta- 
tion with  the  Indians  at  Shamokin,  and  these  were  visited,  and  a 
gathering  for  a  council  was  noticed.  Many  Delawares,  strangers 
to  those  parts,  had  arri\ed,  all  painted  black.  While  spending  the 
night  there,  Adam  Terrence  overheard  Delawares  talking  to  this 
effect:  "What  have  they  come  here  for?"  "To  kill  us,  I  sup- 
pose." "Can  not  we,  then,  send  off  some  of  our  nimble  young 
men  to  give  our  friends  notice,  that  can  soon  be  here?"  Then 
they  sang  a  war  song,  and  four  went  off  in  two  canoes,  one  down 
tlie  Susquehanna,  the  other  across.  The  majority  of  the  white 
men,  urged  by  the  half-breed,  Andrew  Montour,  to  march  home 
along  the  east  side  of  the  river,  thought  it  wiser  to  choose  the 
west  bank.  By  the  mouth  of  Mahanoy  Creek  they  were  fired  at 
by  Indians,  some  of  whom  uttered  words  in  the  Delaware  tongue, 

446 


Revolt  of  the  Delawares 

and  several  of  the  white  men  were  killed,  besides  four  or  tive 
drowned  in  retreating  across  the  river.  11ie  same  day,  or  the 
next,  the  enemy  crossed  the  Susquehanna,  and  killed  many  people, 
from  Thomas  McKee's  down  to  Hunter's  mill.  But  the  people 
of  Tulpehdcken  and  Heidell)erg-  townships,  Berks  county,  who 
marched  with  Conrad  Weiser,  could  not  meet  any  one  to  whom  to 
give  battle.  The  gathering  at  Shamokin  was  to  inform  the  In- 
dians there  that  the  Delawares  on  the  Ohio  had  taken  the  hatchet 
against  the  English,  and  to  warn  all  who  would  not  join  them  to 
move  awa}-,  and  go  up  the  North  l^ast  Branch  to  Xescopecken. 
In  council  Paxanosa  of  Wyoming,  chief  of  the  Shawanees.  s])oke 
boldly  in  favor  of  the  English.  The  Delawares  at  last  told  him 
that  if  he  said  any  more  they  would  knock  him  on  the  head.  A 
certain  Delaware  spoke  against  the  French,  but  was  silenced,  and 
it  was  agreed  to  go  to  Nescopecken,  which  accordingly  became 
the  headquarters  for  those  on  the  warpath.  Those  faithful  to  the 
English  feared  not  only  the  Ohio  Delawares.  l)ut  the  frontier 
inhabitants  of  Pennsylvania,  and  so  about  thirty  retired  to  Wyo- 
ming. Governor  Morris  had  no  arms  or  ammunition  to  give  to 
the  people  of  Berks  or  Lancaster  county,  who  were  ready  enough 
to  defend  them.selves.  Weiser  and  others  on  October  31,  con- 
veying a  report  that  the  people  at  Aughwick  and  Juniata  had  been 
cut  off,  wrote :  'Tf  we  are  not  immediately  supported,  we  must 
not  be  sacrificed,  and  therefore  are  determined  to  go  down  with 
all  that  will  follow  us  to  Philadelphia,  and  quarter  our.selves  on  its 
inhabitants,  and  wait  our  fate  with  them."  Parsons  reported 
murders  just  o\er  the  mountains  from  his  place.  Harris  and 
others  at  Paxton,  at  T2  o'clock  of  the  same  night  that  Weiser 
wrote,  summoned  "all  His  ^Majesty's  .subjects  in  Pennsylvania 
and  elsewhere"  to  repair  to  the  fn^itiers,  to  intercept  the  whole 
body  of  Indians  actually  encami^ed  this  side  of  Gabriel's  on  the 
Susquehanna,  ready  to  strike  within  three  days,  while  a  French 
fort  was  about  t<^  be  established  at  Shamokin.  with  the  C(insent 
of  the  Indians  there.     A  few  days  afterwards,  the  settlements  at 

447 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   aiui   Federal 

the  Great  Cove  were  reduced  to  ashes,  and  numl)crs  murdered  or 
taken  prisoner;  about  two-thirds  of  the  people  in  the  Conegohci^e 
Valley  fled.  One  hundred  men  and  women  went  tor  succor  to 
the  Sheriff  of  Cumberland  county.  Xo  h^^enchmen  were  among- 
these  Indians,  who  were  Delawares  and  Shawanees  commanded 


Moravian  Bake  Oven,  Northampton  Count.v 

Built  about   1760;   from  negative  made  by  J.   F. 
Sachse  in   1895 

by  Shingass.  John  Armstrong  wrote  from  Carlisle  that  nothing 
but  a  chain  of  block  houses  along  the  south  side  of  the  Kittatinny 
mountains  from  Susquehanna  to  the  temporary  line,  would  secure 
the  lives  and  property  of  even  the  old  inhabitants  of  the  county, 
the  new  settlements  being  all  deserted  except  those  in  Sheerman's 
Valley,  which  might  suffer  very  soon.  All  this  being  laid  before 
the  Assembly,  the  latter  only  answered  with  a  request  to  the  Gov- 

448' 


Revolt  of  the  Dclawares 

ernor  to  inform  the  House  if  he  knew  of  any  injury  which  the 
Delawares  and  Shawanees  had  received  to  ahenate  their  affec- 
tions, and  whether  he  knew  the  part  taken  by  the  Six  Nations  in 
relation  to  this  incursion.  On  Xovemlier  7,  an  address  of  some 
of  the  Quakers,  signed  by  Anthony  ]\Iorris  and  twenty-two  others, 
was  presented  to  the  Assembly,  expressing  willingness  to  con- 
tribute towards  the  exigencies  of  government,  and  their  desire 
that  proper  funds  be  raised  to  cultivate  friendship  with  Indians, 
to  support  fellow  subjects  in  distress,  and  for  such  like  l)enevolent 
purposes,  but  apprehension  that  the  putting  of  money  in  the  hands 
of  committees  who  might  apply  it  to  purposes  inconsistent  with 
the  i)eaceab]e  testimony  professed  by  the  petitioners,  might  neces- 
sitate many  among  them  to  suffer,  rather  than  consent  by  paying 
such  tax.  By  a  vote  in  which  James  Pemberton,  Joseph  Trotter, 
Joshua  Morris,  Thomas  Cummings,  William  Peters  (not  the 
brother  of  the  Rev.  Richard),  Peter  W^orrall,  and  Francis  Parvin 
were  in  the  opposition,  the  House  the  next  day  passed  a  bill  grant- 
ing 60,000/.  from  a  tax  on  estates,  whereby  the  question  of  the 
taxation  of  the  Proprietary  estates  was  left  to  the  King.  The 
councillors  unanimously  opposed 'accepting  this.  At  this  juncture 
Scarrooyady  came  to  town,  and  asked  if  the  ])eople  of  Pennsyl- 
vania would  join  him  in  fighting,  yes  or  no;  if  they  would  not, 
then  he  and  his  300  friends  would  go  elsewhere  for  protection, 
there  was  no  time  to  lose.  The  Go\-ernor  explained  that  the  As- 
sembly had  the  power  to  decide  the  question;  and  later  explained 
how  the  controversy  with  that  body  stood,  and  that  he  did  not 
know  what  to  do.  Scarrooyady  heard  this  with  amazement,  and 
said  that  it  would  cause  the  absolute  defection  of  the  Delawares, 
but,  as  for  his  own  services,  he  still  offered  them,  and  desired 
the  Governor  not  to  be  cast  down,  but  to  keep  ccx)l.  Finally, 
Morris  sent  Scarrooyady  to  the  Six  Nations  to  report  the  conduct 
of  the  Delawares;  and  then  pointed  out  to  the  Assembly  that  the 
King's  practice  was  to  approve  or  reject  an  act  as  a  whole,  and 
suggested  that  they  make  the  taxation  of  the  Proprietary  estate 
1-29  449 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and  Federal 

the  subject  of  a  separate  bill,  the  assessment  to  be  not  by  the 
assessors,  but  by  commissioners,  to  be  chosen  by  the  House  and 
himself,  and  named  in  the  bill.  This  proposition  was  rejected, 
after  Indians  had  come  through  Talihaio  Gap  in  the  Kittatinny 
mountains,  and  killed  several  persons  on  guard  there,  and  at- 
tacked a  company  at  Tulpehocken,  eighteen  miles  from  Reading. 

In  November  there  arrived  from  .  Nova  Scotia  i68  men, 
women,  and  children,  ^^■ho  claimed  to  1>e  neutrals  in  any  war  be- 
tween England  and  France,  having  been  of  French  birth  or 
descent,  but  who  were  suspected  of  giving  information  and  provi- 
sions to  the  French  and  Indians,  and  so  considered  dangerous  in 
that  colony.  Morris  ordered  the  vessels  bringing  these  to  lie 
below  the  city,  and  placed  guards  upon  them  to  prevent  any  escape, 
and  furnished  provisions.  Subsequently  these  unfortunates^  were 
distributed  through  the  counties  to  be  cared  for  and  supplied  with 
the  means  of  earning  a  livelihood. 

On  November  20  the  Assembly  sent  to  the  Governor  a  militia 
bill,  entitled  "An  act  for  the  better  ordering  and  regulating  such 
as  are  willing  and  desirous  to  be  united  for  military  purposes 
within  this  Province,"  which,  notwithstanding  its  unsatisfactory 
terms,  was  accepted  by  the  Governor  as  better  than  nothing,  and 
under  which  companies  of  volunteers  were  rapidly  formed. 

On  November  21  the  Indians  came  as  far  as  the  Moravian 
village  of  Gnadenhutten  in  Northampton  county,  killed  six  per- 
sons, and  burned  the  dwelling  houses,  meeting-house,  and  other 
buildings,  with  all  the  grain,  hay,  horses,  and  about  forty  head  of 
cattle  under  cover.  About  fourteen  Christian  red  men  dwelling 
there  fled  with  their  wives  and  children  to  Bethlehem. 

While  William  Moore  of  Moore  Hall,  Chester  county,  holding 
a  commission  as  colonel,  was  writing  word  that  2,000  inhabitants 
of  that  county  were  preparing  to  come  to  Philadelphia  to  compel 
the  Governor  and  Assembly  to  pass  laws  for  defending  the  Prov- 
ince, and  Weiser  was  sending  information  of  a  considerable  num- 
ber ready  to  come  from  Berks  County,  a  letter,  dated  October  4, 


Revolt  of  the  Delawares 

arrixed  frcjin  Thomas  Penn,  enclosing  an  order  on  the  Receiver- 
f  General  for  5,000/.,  as  a  gift  for  the  public  service,  to  l)e  paid  to 
such  persons  as  the  Assembly  and  Governor  should  agree  upon, 
in  lieu  of  taxes  upon  the  Proprietary  estates.  This  was  accepted, 
while  the  Indians  were  burning  the  ^Moravian  village  at  Mahanoy, 
and  killing  all  the  white  people  there  but  two.  Penn  desired  the 
tax  bill  to  say  nothing  about  the  gift,  but  simply  exempt  the 
estates,  but  Morris  overlooked  this,  and  passed  the  "act  for  grant- 
ing 60.000/.  to  the  King's  use,  and  for  striking  55,000/.  thereof  in 
bills  of  credit,"  etc.,  which  declared  that,  in  consideration  of  the 
5.000/.,  the  Proprietary  estates  should  be  exempt  from  the  tax 
thereby  levied.  The  expenditure  of  the  money  was  to  l)e  by  the 
Governor  and  a  majority  of  the  commissioners,  viz. :  Xorris  (the 
Speaker),  Hamilton  and  Mifflin  of  the  Governor's  Council,  and 
Franklin,  Joseph  Fox.  John  Hughes,  and  Evan  Morgan,  assem- 
blymen. Ravages  continued  in  Northampton  county  in  Decem- 
ber, laying  waste  the  country  to  within  twent}'  miles  of  Easton. 
A  giiard  of  forty  men,  erecting  a  fort  at  Gnadenhutten.  was  at- 
tacked and  nearly  anniiiilated.  and  seven  farm  houses  l)etween 
that  place  and  Nazareth  burnt,  on  the  ist  of  January.  1756. 
h^ranklin,  as  commissioner,  later  in  the  month,  marched  witii 
se^■eral  companies  to  Gnadenhutten  and  completed  the  fort,  which 
was  called  Fort  Allen.  It  was  the  advance  post  in  that  direction 
of  a  line  of  forts  and  blockhouses  which  the  commissirjners  esta!> 
lished  along  the  foot  of  the  Blue  mountains  from  the  Delaware 
river  to  the  Maryland  line.  There  were  then  o\er  500  militiamen 
in  Northampton  County,  besides  alx)ut  forty  regular  soldiers  sent 
by  General  Shirley.  About  forty  more  regulars  were  at  Reading. 
Certain  of  the  Conestoga  Indians,  having  been  friendly,  were 
allowed  to  remain  on  the  manor  of  that  name,  while  to  some 
belonging  to  the  Six  Nations  a  home  was  given  on  Pennsbury 
manor.  The  House,  on  Alarch  19,  passed  an  act  by  which  pro- 
vincial volunteers  serving  with  regulars  should  be  liable  like  them 
to  the  terms  of  the  act  of  Parliament  regulating  them,  but  no 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

court  martial  should  put  any  one  to  death  without  submitting-  the 
ca:e  to  the  Governor.  The  Delawares,  forcing  even  John  Shick- 
calamy  to  go  against  the  English,  sent  representatives  to  the  Six 
Nations  to  justify  their  conduct,  but  were  condemned  and  ordered 
to  desist.  On  hearing  this,  and  seeing  that  it  so  far  had  not 
deterred  the  enemy,  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  to  meet  barbarity 
with  barbarity,  gave  a  hatchet  to  Scarrooyad}-,  as  a  declaration  of 
war  against  the  Delawares,  and  obtained  an  offer  in  writing  from 
Commissioners  Fox,  Hamilton,  Morgan,  Mifflin,  and  Hughes  to 
pay  as  a  reward  for  every  male  Indian  prisoner  over  ten  years 
old  $150;  for  every  female  Indian  prisoner  over  ten  or  male  under 
ten,  $130;  and  for  the  scalp  of  every  male  Indian  over  ten,  $130; 
and  for  the  scalp  of  every  Indian  woman,  $50 !  A  fort  was  to  be 
built  at  Shamokin,  as  a  rallying  place  for  Scarrooyady's  followers. 
Captain  Alexander  Culliertson  and  about  fifty  men  attacked  In- 
dians going  with  captives  taken  from  McCord's  Fort,  and  lost 
many  killed  and  wounded,  on  April  9.  On  April  12  an  address 
from  Quakers  was  presented  to  the  (Governor,  signed  by  Samuel 
Powell,  Anthony  Morris,  John  Reynell,  Samuel  Preston  Moore, 
Israel  Pemberton,  and  John  Smith,  at  the  request  of  many  of 
their  brethren,  beseeching  that  before  war  were  declared,  some 
further  attempts  be  made  by  pacific  measures  to  reduce  the  Indians 
to  a  sense  of  duty.  William  Logan  asked  for  a  full  meeting  of 
the  Council  that  evening;  and  ten  members  came,  of  whom  all  but 
three  had  been  brought  up  as  Quakers,  and  all  but  four  still  con- 
sidered themselves  such  :  yet  all  except  Logan  agreed  to  war  with- 
out delay.  Scarrooyady  was  drunk  for  two  days.  A  great  body 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  back  counties  were  assembling  at  Lan- 
caster to  come  to  Philadelphia  and  force  the  passage  of  the  laws 
which  they  thought  were  called  for  by  the  exigency  of  affairs. 
With  difficulty  were  they  deterred.  Proclamation  of  the  war 
w-as  made  April  14.  Then  Scarrooyady  announced,  to  the  dis- 
appointment of  the  government,  that  he  and  all  the  Indians  with 
him  except  three  would  go  to  the  Six  Nation  country  to  leave  the 


Revolt  of  the  Delawares 

women  and  children  there,  and  return  witli  warriors  after  the 
completion  of  the  Shamokin  fort.  Some  of  the  Quakers,  talking 
to  Conrad  Weiser,  the  Provincial  interpreter,  were  confirmed  in 
their  surmise  that  some  dissatisfaction  respecting-  land  had  tended 
to  alienate  the  affections  of  the  Delawares,  and  that  it  was  still 
possible  to  make  peace  with  them.  \\'eiser  afterwards  recommend- 


ii 

ikfK 

'1 

"  4' 

Ht5 

Ri1^£»/                           -'j^ 

H:                    »    . 

•r^-^ 

jBHK^^^h 

i      J1 

9 

'H^ 

^hIBB 

^^r 

lllil^^"l 

First  American  Home  of  John  James  Audubon 

Mill  Grove  Farm,  Montgomery  County;  built 
1762.  Engraved  for  this  work  from  a  negative 
by  D.  E.  Brinton 

ing  a  certain  Indian  living  in  New-  Jersey  as  a  messenger  to  them. 
Israel  Pemberton  conveyed  to  Governor  Morris  an  offer  to  send 
such  messenger  at  the  exl:^ense  of  himself  and  co-religionists,  as 
their  private  undertaking.  With  Morris's  consent,  several  of  the 
chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  then  in  tow-n,  with  \\'eiser  and  Montour, 
who  was  the  other  Provincial  interpreter,  and  Daniel  Claus.  secre- 
tary to  General  Johnson,  dined  with  some  of  the  Quakers  at  the 
house  of  one  of  them,  and  were  made  acquainted  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Society  of  Friends  as  to  war,  and  this  project,  in 

453 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

pursuance  of  those  |)rinci])les.  Scarroo^'ady  was  pleased  willi  il. 
W'eiser  achised  calling-  together  as  many  survi\-ors  as  possible  of 
the  first  settlers,  men  who  had  so  long  lived  in  amity  with  the 
Delawares.  to  have  another  meeting,  and  give  a  belt  of  wampum. 
Morris  was  asked  to  direct  the  proceeding.  About  twenty  per- 
sons had  further  conferences  with  the  Indians,  and  it  was  agreed 
to  send  three  messeng-ers  to  the  Delawares,  to  induce  them  to 
lay  down  their  arms  and  send  l)ack  their  ca])tives,  after  which 
the  Quakers  would  act  as  mediators  with  the  government. 
Those  who  were  urging  peace  were  vindicated  by  news  from 
Johnson  that  the  Six  Nations  had  succeeded  in  bringiug  the  Dela- 
wares to  compliance  with  their  orders  and  readiness  to  surrender 
captives.  So  the  three  Indians  whom  Scarrooyady  left  behind, 
Newcastle  and  Jag'rea  of  the  Six  Nations  and  William  Lacquis, 
a  Delaware,  were  sent  in  the  Governor's  name  to  the  Delawares 
on  the  Susquehanna,  and  held  a  meeting  with  them  at  Tioga,  or 
Tiaogon,  and  received  an  apology.  Johnson,  Superintendent  of 
Indian  Affairs,  raised  to  a  baronetcy  for  his  victory  over  Dieskau 
in  September,  1755,  thought  Morris's  declaration  of  war  im- 
politic; and,  by  proclamation  of  June  3,  repeated  several  times, 
hostilities  were  suspended  except  as  to  the  Delawares  on  the  Ohio. 
A  petition  having  been  forwarded  to  the  King  about  the  end 
of  the  year  1755,  setting  forth  the  distressed  and  defenceless  state 
of  the  Province,  and  praying  His  Majesty  to  take  it  into  con- 
sideration, and  interpose  his  authority  that  so  important  a  Prov- 
ince, situated  in  the  center  of  the  American  dominions,  might  be 
put  into  a  posture  of  defense,  it  came  before  the  Lords  of 
Trade  and  Plantations ;  they  were  attended  by  Paris,  solicitor  for 
the  petitioners,  with  his  counsel,  York  and  Forrester,  and  by 
Joshua  Sharp,  solicitor  for  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  with 
his  counsel,  Henly  and  Pratt,  and  by  the  agents  of  the  Province, 
and  by  several  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  Argument  was  pre- 
sented that  the  Proprietaries  had  by  the  charter  power  to  defend 
the  Province,  as  well  as  the  plea  for  the  Assembly  that  55,000/. 

454 


Revolt  of  the  Delawares 

had  been  granted  to  the  King's  use,  and  a  miHtia  law  been  passed 
for  regulating-  those  willing  to  enlist.  The  Lords  reported  March 
3.  1756,  that  there  was  little  room  to  hope  that  the  words  "other 
purposes  for  the  King's  use"  would  be  construed  to  include  mili- 
tary measures  by  those  who  had  the  sole  disposition  of  the  money, 
that  is,  a  committee  of  an  Assembly  principled  against  war ;  and 
that  the  prohibition  of  minors  enlisting,  and  the  restriction  against 
the  companies  being  compelled  to  go  more  than  three  days'  march 
l^eyond  the  inhabited  parts  of  the  Prcjvince,  were,  with  the  volun- 
tar}-  and  elective  and  insul)ordinati<in  features  of  the  militia  sys- 
tem. mischievr)us :  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania  was  n^)t  ex- 
empted from  the  general  law  of  nature  and  society  to  defend  the 
government  and  those  who  were  its  subjects,  liut  was  obliged  by 
the  charter  to  the  Proprietaries'  father  to  assist  them  in  so  doing; 
but  there  was  no  reason  to  hope  that  proper  measures  would  be 
taken  while  the  majority  of  the  Assembly  consisted  of  persons, 
representing  not  one-sixth  of  the  population,  not  I'Hiund  by  any 
oath,  principled  against  military  service,  and  even  declaring  it  a 
violation  of  the  Constitution  to  compel  persons  to  bear  arms,  or 
provide  for  those  who  did ;  therefore,  there  was  no  remedy  in  the 
Lords'  opinion  but  an  act  of  Parliament,  as  suggested  by  the 
Attorney-General  and  Solicitor-General  in  1744,  for  depriving 
those  who  held  such  views  of  their  power  to  control  the  legis- 
lature. Accordingly,  a  bill  was  prepared  excluding  from  seats 
in  any  legislative  assembly  in  .America  all  persons  who  refused  to 
take  an  oath  prescribed  in  the  bill.  Meml^ers  of  the  Society  of 
Friends  induced  the  government  not  to  push  this  through  Parlia- 
ment that  session,  applying  to  a  prominent  peer,  who  assisted 
them  upon  the  condition,  which  he  suggested,  that  the  utmost  en- 
deavors be  used  with  the  Pennsylvania  Quakers  to  induce  them  to 
decline  being  chosen  to  the  Assembly  during  what  was  then  the 
situation  of  affairs.  This  the  ^Meeting  for  Sufferings  in  London 
communicated  to  the  brethren  in  Philadelphia,  even  sending  over 
two  visiting  Friends  to  use  their  influence.     ^Meanwhile,  on  June 

455 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

4'  ^75^^'  ]''^^^'^^>  rcnil)ei"t(>n  and  Joslma  ]\I(ji"ris.  memlx^rs  from 
Philadelphia  couiit\-,  William  Callender  from  the  City,  \\'ilHam 
Peters  from  Chester  county,  Peter  Worrall  from  Lancaster,  and 
Francis  Parvin  from  Berks,  resig-ned  their  seats  in  the  Assembly, 


Soldier;  cooperated  with  General  Forbes  against 
Fort  Duquesne,  1758;  with  his  command  re- 
lieved Forts  Ligonier,  Bedford  and  Pitt,  1763. 
Photographed  especially  for  this  work  from  a 
painting  by   Benjamin  West 

giving  as  a  reason  that  many  of  their  constituents  seemed  of 
opinion  that  the  situation  of  affairs  called  upon  their  representa- 
tives for  services  "in  a  military  way."  which,  from  a  conviction 
of  judgment  after  mature  (lelil:)eration,   they  could  not  comply 

456 


Revolt  of  the  Delawares 

with.  At  the  October  election,  however,  Mahlon  Kirkbride  and 
William  Hoge  of  Bucks  county,  and  Peter  Dicks  and  Xathaniel 
l^ennock  of  Chester  county,  although  of  the  same  religious  per- 
suasion as  the  seven,  were  returned.  This  was  without  solicita- 
tion on  the  part  of  these  four,  and,  to  avoid  all  question,  they 
resigned. 

On  July  II,  1756,  Sir  \\'i]li,Hm  Johnson  receix'ed  the  submis- 
sion of  the  head  of  the  Delawares  on  the  Susquehanna,  in  presence 
of  the  deputies  of  the  Six  Nations,  and  his  promise  to  surrender 
captives,  and  to  endeavor  to  withdraw  from  the  I'rench  those  of 
liis  nation  who  had  gone  to  live-  in  the  neighborhood  of  Fort 
Duquesne.  He  and  Paxanosa,  head  of  the  Shawanees,  received 
the  war  belt  from  Johnson,  and  solemnly  danced  the  war  dance. 

The  King  of  England,  having  appointed  the  Earl  of  Loudoun 
as  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces  in  North  America,  and  or- 
dered two  regiments  of  foot  and  a  train  of  artillery  to  embark 
for  the  defence  of  the  colonies,  undertook  to  fill  up  another  regi- 
ment with  recruits  from  America,  calling  it  the  Royal  American 
Regiment,  and  recommended  that  out  of  the  funds  raised  for  the 
public  service,  masters  should  be  repaid  the  purchase  money  paid 
by  them  for  the  lalx)r  of  servants  who  might  enlist.  On  May 
27.  1756,  he  formally  declared  war  against  Erance,  an  act  which 
was  not  known  in  Pennsylvania  until  about  two  months  after- 
wards. The  retirement  of  the  seven  Quakers  from  the  Assembly 
destroyed  the  opposition  to  war,  but  left  the  question  of  popular 
rights  and  the  poor  man's  interests  to  stand  in  the  way  of  pro- 
viding money  to  ]:)rosecute  it. 

The  60,000/.  l)eing  spent,  the  Asseni1)ly  passed  an  act  to  raise 
40,000/.  by  a  tax  wliich  was  levial)le  upon  the  Proprietary  estates, 
but  Morris  rejected  it,  as  well  as  an  act  to  continue  the  excise, 
because  in  the  latter  there  was  not  the  pro^■ision  required  hv  the 
eleventh  instruction  from  the  Proprietaries  that  tlie  (lovernor 
should  have  a  joint  power  with  the  Assembly  in  disposing  of  the 
money. 

457 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

The  Indians  continued  their  depredations  in  Cumberland 
county.  Captain  Jacobs,  one  of  the  heads  of  the  Delawares  on 
the  Ohio,  and  several  Frenclimen  with  a  number  of  savages  at- 
tacked h^)rt  (iramille  (now  Lewiston).  commanded  by  Lieuten- 
ant Armstroui^-.  and  took  it  on  August  ist,  after  se\-eral  days'  siege 
and  set  it  on  hre ;  the  garrison  had  been  two  days  without  water, 
and  the  lirave  Armstrong,  who  had  often  refused  to  sur- 
render, had  l)een  kihed.  Most  of  the  country  was  evacuated, 
and  York  county  became  an  exposed  frontier,  where  if  tlie  enemy 
came,  lie  would  find  subsistence  to  supply  many  thousand  men. 
Never  had  there  loeen  a  more  abundant  harvest.  The  people  of 
Cumberland,  guarded  by  detachments  of  troops,  had  been  reaping 
it,  when  they  heard  of  the  taking  of  Fort  Granville,  and  left  to 
rot  whate\-er  they  had  not  gotten  in.  Fort  Shirley  at  Aughwick 
was  threatened  with  a  larger  attacking  force :  it  had  no  well,  get- 
ting its  water  from  a  stream  at  the  foot  of  a  high  bank  to  the 
eastward.  Captain  Jacobs  said  he  could  take  any  fort  that  would 
catch  fire,  and  would  make  peace  with  the  English  only  when  they 
had  taught  him  to  manufacture  gunpowder. 

Teedyuscung,  living  at  Tioga  Point,  and  vested  with  some- 
thing like  vice-regal  authority,  was  the  chief  of  the  Delawares 
who,  according  to  John  Shickcalamy,  had  stirred  up  the  Indians. 
The  messengers  sent  at  the  instigation  of  the  Quakers  brought 
him  back  with  them  as  far  as  Bethlehem,  he  selling  an  inglish 
female  prisoner  for  a  horse  to  make  the  journey.  The  messengers 
induced  ]\Iorris  to  meet  him  in  council  at  Easton,  and  informed 
the  Quakers  active  in  the  matter  that  their  presence  also  was 
necessary.  Owing  to  the  low  state  of  the  public  funds,  and  the 
refusal  of  the  Proprietaries'  agents  to  contribute,  the  Quakers 
raised  a  considerable  sum,  and  followed  Morris  to  Easton,  and 
at  Morris's  lodgings  met  Teedyuscung.  who  expressed  his  con- 
fidence in  them,  and  his  unwillingness  to  proceed  to  business  with- 
out their  attendance.  The  council  arranged  for  a  larger  one.  On 
Julv  30,  the  presents  were  deli\"ered,  and  it  ^^■as  explained  that 

"'458 


Revolt  of  the  Delawares 

part  came  from  the  Onakers  as  a  testimony  oi  their  regard,  and 
of  their  desire  to  promote  peace.  A  hirge  entertainment  was 
given  to  the  fifteen  chiefs,  etc.,  and  was  attended  by  the  officers  of 
the  Royal  American  Regiment,  as  well  as  of  the  Provincial  forces, 
and  the  magistrates  and  freeholders  and  Quakers,  to  the  great 
delight  of  Teedynscung.  After  dinner,  the  Ouakers  went  home. 
Morris  authorized  Teedynscung  and  Captain  Newcastle  to  sum- 
mon all  the  Indians  they  could  for  the  later  treaty.  After  setting 
out,  Teedynscung  returned  to  the  neighborhood  of  Bethlehem, 
bought  H(|u<n-.  and  was  constantly  (h-unk,  and  told  Indians  there 
that  other  Indians  would  come  in  three  weeks,  and  destroy  them 
and  the  white  people,  and  not  to  let  the  white  people  know. 
Finally  he  started  frir  Tioga  Point. 

^^'illiam  Denny,  an  army  officer,  assumed  the  duties  of  Gov- 
ernor on  August  20,  Morris  having  asked  to  be  relieved.  Upon 
appointment  Denu}-  gave  the  Proprietaries  a  bond  in  5.000/.  ])cn- 
alty  to  comply  with  their  instructions.  These,  among  other  re- 
strictions tV)rbade  him  from  jxissing  any  act  wherel)y  the  interest 
from  loans  of  paper  money  (»r  the  revenue  from  excise  should  be 
applied  except  to  the  purposes  of  the  act,  or  by  a  vote  of  Assembly 
appro^■ed  b}-  the  Governor ;  moreover,  he  was  not  to  add  more 
than  40,000/.  to  the  80,000/.  paper  money  outstanding.  Any  land 
tax  was  to  be  created  only  for  one  year,  and  laid  upon  the  annual 
rent  or -yearly  value  only,  calling  three  per  cent,  of  the  selling 
value  the  yearly  value  of  lands  occupied  by  the  owners;  an<l  all 
unoccupied  and  unimproved  lands  and  all  Proprietary  quit  rents 
were  to  be  exemjited,  and  the  rate  not  to  be  more  than  4s.  per  /.  of 
such  annual  value,  it  seems  strange  that  the  Proprietaries  could 
make  themselves  believe  that  .'^uch  a  tax  by  being  honestly  levied 
would  yield  the  amount  for  which  the  British  generals  were 
clamoring. 

.\n  expedition  had  been  planned  by  Morris  against  Kittan- 
ning,  the  headf|uarters  of  the  Delawares  on  the  Ohio,  where 
Shingass  and  Captain  Jacobs  were  leaders.     There  the  prisoners 

459 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

from  Fort  Granville  were  taken,  and  one  of  them  at  once  burnt. 
Morris  had  given  the  command  to  Colonel  John  Armstrong,  under 
whom  were  to  ser\-e  the  companies  of  Hans  Hamilton,  Hugh 
Mercer,  Edward  Ward,  and  James  Potter,  These  started  from 
Fort  Shirley  on  the  last  of  August,  and  arrived  before  Kittanning 
on  the  night  of  September  7,  without  being  discovered,  leaving 
a  iew  miles  back  a  dozen  men  under  Lieutenant  Hogg  with  the 
horses  and  knapsacks,  under  orders  to  attack  at  daybreak  some 
Indians  seen  around  a  camp-tire.  When  morning  came,  Arm- 
strong \\ith  most  of  his  men,  lieing  on  the  Allegheny  below  the 
town,  attacked  the  lower  end  of  it  and  the  cornfield,  and,  with 
considerable  loss,  set  fire  to  most  of  the  buildings,  and  caused  the 
explosion  of  quantities  of  gunpowder,  and  the  unaimed  discharge 
of  loaded  cannon.  Captain  Jacobs  fell  killed  out  of  his  garret 
window.  Numbers  of  Indians  were  shot  or  blown  up,  and  goods 
sent  by  the  French  destroyed,  wdiile  captives  escaped.  Arm- 
strong was  w^ounded,  and,  learning  that  a  body  of  Indians  had  not 
long  previouslv  left  the  town  and  that  two  batteaux  of  French 
were  expected  that  day,  was  afraid  that  not  only  his  retreat  would 
be  cut  off,  but  that  Lieutenant  Hogg's  force  would  be  over- 
whelmed ;  and  so  the  victors,  with  a  dozen  scalps,  started  back 
with  their  wounded.  Captain  Mercer,  who  early  in  the  action 
had  been  wounded  in  the  arm.  and  about  twelve  men  became 
separated  from  the  rest.  It  was  found  that  the  Indiar^  whom 
Hogg  was  to  attack  turned  out  to  be  a  large  force,  and  three  of 
his  men  had  been  killed,  the  rest  running  aw-ay.  while  he,  three 
times  wounded,  had  afterwards  died,  the  horse  he  had  been  put 
upon  carrying  him  some  miles  away.  Those  who  were  left  of 
Armstrong's  army,  most  of  the  horses  being  lost,  kept  close  to- 
gether, daily  expecting  attack,  until  they  reached  Fort  Littleton.  • 
Mercer  moreover  lived  to  become  distinguished. 

After  many  conferences  with  the  Speaker  and  Franklin, 
Denu}-  felt  compelled  to  agree  to  the  Assembly's  bill  for  raising 
30.000/.  by  an  excise;  the  only  point  he  gained  was  the  striking 

460 


Revolt  of  the   Dchiw  arcs 


out  of  the  clause  appropriating  the  fines  usually  paid  to  him  and 
to  the  City  Corporation.  The  King  repealed  the  two  laws  relat- 
ing to  the  militia.  Denny  having  ordered  Fort  Shirley  to  be 
evacuated   as  untenable,   and  decided  to  demolish  manv  of  the 


Old  Block  House  ai  Piusljurgh 

Built   1764;   restored  by  the   Pittsburgh  Chapter 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution 

little  forts,  and  to  concentrate  the  garrisons  at  the  stronger  ones, 
asked  the  new  Assembly  for  a  suitable  militia  law,  and  one  was 
duly  agreed  uix)n  and  enacted  on  November  3. 

Captain    Newcastle,    sent    by    Denny    to    ascertain    whether 
Teedyuscung  had  any  authority  from  the  Six  Nations,  reported 

461 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

that  Canyase,  one  of  their  principal  councillors,  a  ]\lohawk  chief! 
liad   explained  to  Teedyuscung  that,   while  the  Mohawks  were 
men,  made  so  from  above,  the  Delaw  ares  were  women,  but  since 
they  had  taken  up  the  tomahawk,  of  whicli  the  Six  Nations  did 
not  approve,  the  latter  had  made  them  men.  Ijut  did  not  allow 
them  to  carry  a  tomahawk.      Sir   William  Johnson  t(X)k  some 
ofifense  at   Captain   Newcastle,    and   disliked   the  conference  at 
Easton,  as  an  encroachment  upon  his  exclusive  right  conferred 
by  the  King  to  treat  with  the  Five  Nations  and  their  allies :  so  he 
induced  the  Earl  of  Loudoun  to  forl>id  1)y  letter  of  September 
22   anything  further  of  the  kind.     The   Pennsylvania  officials, 
however,  in  view  of  the  Proprietaries'  chartered  rights,  and  the 
interview  with  him  at  Easton .  Samuel  Preston  Moore,  Abraham 
Dawes,  Jonathan  jMifflin,  Israel  Pemberton.  and  other  Quakers 
at  their  own  expense   furnished   winter  clothing  to  the  Indians 
attending.      Several  Quakers  were  present.    Denny,  by  his  candid 
language,  did.  as  the  ^^^L^hawks  afterwards  said,  "put  his  hand 
into  Teedyuscung's  bosom,  and  was  so  successful  as  to  draw  out 
the  secret,"  viz. :  that  he  and  others  felt  that  they  had  been  de- 
frauded in  the  matter  of  land  :  the  Proprietaries  had  purchased 
land  cheap  and  sold  it  off  dear,  and  would  not  allow  the  Indians  to 
cut  a  little  wood,  or  hunt,  which  was  their  onlv  means  of  lix'eli- 
hood  ;  and  then  he  made  his  complaints  as  to  the  Walking  Pu}"chase. 
As  to  this  last.  Denny  offering  to  inquire  thoroughlv.  the  com- 
missioners suggested  that,  as  more  goods  had  been  brought  than 
was  proper  for  so  few  Indians,  it  would  be  better  to  give  imme- 
diate satisfaction,  whether  the  claim  was  just  or  unjust;  and  to 
this  Denny  agreed,  and  asked  Teedyuscung  what  would  satisfy 
them,  and  explainer!  that  a  large  part  of  the  400/.  worth  of  goods 
for  their  relief  had  Ijeen  furnished  by  the  Quakers,  the  descend- 
ants of  those  who  came  over  with  William  Penn.     Teedyuscung 
said  that  he  must  bring  to  the  next  meeting  the  people  to  whom 
the  land  had  lielonged.  and  a  meeting  in  the  spring  was  agreed 
to.     Croghan,  who  had  been  appointed  by  Sir  William  Johnson 

462  ^ 


Revolt  of  the  Delawares 

to  take  charge  of  Indian  affairs  in  Pennsyhania,  consented  to  this 
meeting,  and,  at  the  Assembly's  expense,  dispatched  messengers 
to  the  Shawanees  and  Delawares  on  the  Ohio  to  induce  them  to 
take  part.  The  Friendly  Association,  headed  by  Israel  Peml^er- 
ton,  William  Callender,  Jeremiah  Warder,  and  William  Fisher, 
contributed  lOo/.  Callendar  and  Peml^erton  applied  for  permis- 
sion to  search  the  minutes  of  the  Governor's  Council  to  satisfy 
themselves  and  their  friends  as  to  the  true  state  of  the  Indian 
claims  on  the  lands  in  this  Province,  they  having  raised  a  con- 
siderable sum  for  amicably  adjusting  the  same.  This  permission 
was  refused,  and  they  were  notified  that  the  Governor  could  not 
allow  any  business  to  be  transacted  with  the  Indians  except  by 
those  immediately  empowered  by  the  King's  authority  or  his  own. 
A  battalion  of  the  Royal  American  Regiment  with  Bouquet 
in  command  and  two  indq:)endent  companies  being  ordered  to  the 
city  of  Philadelphia  for  the  winter,  a  part  arrived  in  December. 
The  Assembly  extended  to  the  Province  the  act  of  Parliament 
authorizing  the  quartering  of  troops  in  the  public  houses  by  the 
mayor  and  Corporation,  Governor  Denny  protesting  that  this 
would  not  be  sufficient ;  the  Assembly,  on  the  other  hand,  conclud- 
ed that  117  public  houses  could  take  care  of  100  men.  and  was 
umvilling  to  subject  private  citizens  to  having  soldiers,  some  of 
them  perhaps  their  former  servants,  introduced  into  their 
households.  The  mayor,  Attwood  Shute,  the  recorder.  Benjamin 
Chew,  and  several  aldermen,  among  them  Strettell  and  Mifllin 
of  the  Governor's  Council,  remonstrated  to  the  Assembly,  saying 
that  the  keepers  of  the  public  houses  were  many  of  them  so  poor 
that  it  was  impossible  to  provide  for  such  numl>ers.  The  condi- 
tion of  those  who  arrived  became  more  and  more  wretched  as  the 
weather  l^ecame  colder,  124  having  to  sleep  on  straw  on  the  floor 
of  rooms  without  fire,  and  the  smallpox  increasing,  whereas  no 
hospital  had  been  provided,  nor  any  store  house  nor  guard  room. 
Then  Denny,  after  remonstrating  with  various  members  of  the 
/vssembly,  sent  for  the  sheriff,  and  made  out  a  warrant  requiring 

463 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

liim  to  provide  ([uarters  for  those  who  could  not  be  accommo- 
dated in  the  public  houses,  and,  besides  these  quarters,  a  hospital 
or  a  number  of  contiguous  houses  to  serve  as  such.  This  war- 
rant was  handed  to  Bouquet  to  fill  up  with  the  number  of  soldiers 
not  able  to  be  cared  for  in  public  houses;  meanwhile  not  to  be 
considered  as  issued.  The  sheriff,  borrowing  it  from  Bouquet, 
showed  it  to  Israel  Pemberton  and  some  Quakers  and  to  the 
Assembly.  The  House,  much  perturbed,  recommended  to  the 
commissioners  for  spending  the  30,000/.  the  establishment  of  a 
hospital,  and  addressed  the  Governor,  asking  him  to  cause  the 
magistrates  and  officers  of  the  City  to  make  an  inspection  of  the 
quarters  in  public  houses,  and  oblige  the  keepers  of  public  houses 
to  receive  the  officers  and  soldiers  billeted  upon  them,  either  in 
said  houses  or  such  others  as  they  could  procure,  and  so  quiet 
the  minds  of  the  people,  expressing  surprise  at  a  report  of  his 
ordering  the  sherifif  to  quarter  soldiers  in  private  houses.  Denny 
wa^ote  a  short  note  to  the  Assembly  that  the  troops  must  be  quar- 
tered. The  ^Assembly  sat  all  Saturday  afternoon  and  Sunday, 
and  sent  a  long  message  to  him,  while  the  people  w^ere  going  to 
church,  asking  for  a  conference;  this  took  place  the  next  day, 
and  was  a  long  wrangle,  the  assemblymen  pointing  out  that 
there  Avas  plenty  of  room  in  the  public  houses  of  the  suburbs  and 
other  towns  of  the  Province,  and  the  Governor  saying  it  was  his 
duty  to  execute  the  General's  orders,  which  specified  qua.ters  in 
the  city ;  the  assemblymen  saying  there  was  no  necessity  for  this, 
the  Governor  maintaining  that  the  General  was  the  proper  judge 
as  to  the  necessity,  the  assemblymen  replying  that  if  that  were  so, 
military  officers  might  say  it  was  necessary  to  quarter  a  wdiole 
army  in  one  square  in  one  street.  Denny  sent  that  night  to  the 
mayor,  demanding  a  prompt  inspection  and  report.  While  this 
was  being  made,  and  the  mayor's  representation  being  verified, 
the  Earl  of  Loudoun  wrote  that  if  the  quarters  were  not  pro- 
Aided,  he  would,  if  necessary,  march  enough  troops  to  Phila- 
delphia to  enforce  the  securing  of  them,  and  he  sent  Major- 

464 


h^ 


B E  NJA  MIX  WE S  T 


Etclied  for  this  work  by  Albert  Rosfciulial  from  the  painting  liy  Gilbert  Stuan 
In  the  National  Gallery,  London,  England 


^?)«fMfH4^^iy  /y  J/i^  %fm4H^^ivi*iui   J^-^^^r^tj/  /^iMit^4*io:4[Mt  Jj^^i  /cf/O 


Revolt  of  the  Delawares 

General  Webb  to  take  command.  Denny  then  obtained  from  the 
commissioners  to  spend  the  30.000/..  an  assurance  that  the  quar- 
ters would  be  provided,  and  the  hos])ital  furnished  in  a  week. 

The  Assembly  on  January  22  passed  an  act  for  raising 
100,000/.  for  defence  by  a  tax  on  all  estates,  real  and  personal, 
and  disregarded  the  Proprietary  instructions  as  to  exempting  the 
quit  rents  and  the  \-ast  estate  in  unimproved  lands,  and  as  to 
regidating  the  procedure  of  the  assessors.  Probably  with  inward 
glee  tliey  complied  with  the  requirement  that  the  money  should 
be  raised  in  one  }'ear;  for,  as  so  great  a  part  of  the  100.000/.  was 
to  be  paid  by  the  Penns,  the  latter  would  suffer  by  ]:)eing  obliged 
to  hand  over  such  an  amount  at  once.  On  Denny's  refusal  to 
transgress  any  instructions,  the  Assembly  sent  a  remonstrance 
that  the  necessity  for  so  large  a  sum,  founded  on  the  Governor's 
own  estimate,  had  obliged  them  to  an  effort  l:>eyond  their  strength  ; 
hundreds  of  families  must  be  distressed  to  pay  the  tax,  and  the 
bill  as  closely  followed  the  laws  of  the  Mother  Country  as  the 
dift'erent  circumstances  permitted.  Denny  decided  to  lay  the  bill 
before  the  King,  with  his  reasons  for  not  passing  it,  and  the 
Assembly,  deciding  to  do  the  same,  nevertheless  sent  to  Denny  a 
bill  entitled  ''a  supplement  to  the  act  entitled  'an  act  for  granting 
the  sum  of  60,000/.  to  the  King's  use  for  striking  55.000/.  thereof 
in  bills  of  credit  and  to  ])rovide  a  fund  for  sinking  the  same,'  and 
for  granting  to  His  Majesty  the  additional  sum  of  100,000/.''' 
This  bill  exempted  the  Proprietaries"  quit  rents  and  their  unim- 
proved estates,  but  the  (Governor  rejected  it,  chiefly  as  contraven- 
ing the  instructicju  against  such  an  increase  of  paper  money,  it 
allowing  45,000/.  to  be  immediately  struck  in  bills  of  credit,  and 
as  establishing  a  tax  for  four  years.  Denn\-  suggested  that  if 
on  trial  a  tax  for  one  year  were  insufficient,  it  could  be  made  to 
embrace  luxuries.  The  Assembly  said  that  if  every  detail  of  the 
instructions  were  to  be  implicit!}-  fullowed,  the  real  and  personal 
estate  taxable  did  not  exceed  20.000  lumses,  with  the  improved 
land  annexed  to  them,  averaging,  including  the  personal  estate 

i-.^o  465 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

of  thdse  inhal)ilini;'  tlieni.  250/.  each,  alloi^x'tlier  5.000.000/.  i)rin- 
cipal.  liaxing"  150.000/.  a.s  the  yearly  \alne  at  three  per  cent., 
on  which  a  tax  of  4s.  per  /.  wonld  produce  only  30.000/.  As  to 
making-  up  the  deficienc}-  1))-  taxing-  luxuries,  such  a  tax  in  Xew 
York,  including-  duties  on  wine,  distilled  l!([uors,  negroes,  cocoa, 
and  drygoods.  during  the  last  fiscal  }-ear  had  i)r(>duced  3.204/.  ^gs. 
2(L,  the  people  there,  moreover.  l:)eing  generally  richer  than  those 
in  Pennsyl\-ania.  and  nearl}-  all  the  gold  and  silver  of  neighboring 
colonies  going  there  to  support  the  trooi)s.  "Our  chief  luxury," 
the  committee  on  the  subject  said,  "if  it  can  be  called  a  luxury, 
is  rum ;"  and  this,  with  wine,  etc.,  was  already  subject  to  a  tax  for 
ten  years  to  come.  By  the  middle  of  March,  the  pay  of  the  Pro- 
vincial forces  was  six  months  in  arrear,  and  a  mutiny  was  feared. 
Lord  Loudoun  came  to  Philadelphia  for  a  meeting  with  the  Gov- 
ernors of  North  Carolina,  \"irginia,  Maryland,  and  Pennsylvania, 
at  which  it  was  decided  that  Pennsylvania  should  furnish  1,400 
men,  of  whom  200  should  serve  in  the  defence  of  South  Carolina. 
Denny  explained  to  him  the  difficulty  with  the  Assembly,  and  at 
his  rec|uest  made  certain  propositions  for  Loudoun  to  lay  before 
the  members  of  the  Assembly,  indicating-  how  far  the  Lieutenant- 
Gox'ernor,  in  the  face  of  the  instrtictions,  could  go  towards  a 
compromise ;  whereupon  Norris  and  Franklin  presented  the  reply 
of  the  Assembly.  A  part  of  this  was  as  follows:  "The  Proprie- 
taries are  hereditary  Governors  of  this  Province;  they  ha\'e  a 
noble  support  in  the  quit  rents;  they  ought  therefore  to  gox-ern 
the  Province  in  person;  but  they  live  in  England,  make  private 
estate  of  the  quit  rents,  and  send  deputies  to  govern  in  their  stead. 
Their  deputies  have  also  a  support  which  we  have  established  l)y 
law  in  the  money  issuing  from  licenses,  etc..  supposed  to  be  near 
£1,000  sterling  ])er  annum.  Thus  we  actually  ])ay  two  supports, 
and  yet  have  not  the  full  benefit  of  one  ( jovernor ;  for  the  Pro- 
prietaries live  at  a  great  distance,  and  can  not  readily  be  applied  to 
on  any  emergency  of  government,  and  their  Deputy  is  so  re- 
strained  that   he   can   not   use  his   own   judgment.      When    our 

466 


J 


-L-33U10  xgMHVVy 


=3Mv-r  ^OJ3ot^>57'l-io 


n 


H 
III 

(Y 

h 

0 

3mi 

A3Nd 

h 

iaaaxc     ah?=i3j 


-LVOq 


N 

z 

0 

D 


a, 
£ 


CL_: 

o 
s 


O 


Revolt  of  the  Delawares 

Lieiitenant-Goxernors  were  at  liberty  to  act  as  Governors,  and 
pass  such  laws  as  they  found  for  the  benefit  of  the  people,  they 
have  always  received  from  the  Assembly  additional  yearly  marks 
of  the  People's  gratitude  and  respect.  Alx^ve  30,000/.  have  been 
given  by  the  Assembly  within  these  thirty  years  to  Governors  out 
of  the  funds  of  which  by  law  the  Assemblies  had  the  sole  dispo- 
sition. The  Assembly  have  great  respect  for  their  present  Gov- 
ernor"— this  seems  hardly  mere  propriety  of  speech  (jr  flattery — 
"and  if  he  would  think  fit  himself  to  hear  and  answer  their  com- 
plaints, it  might  probably  be  very  agreeable  to  the  Assembly  to 
have  an  opportunity  of  laying  them  before  him;  but,  as  there  are 
some  of  his  Council  whi)  are  suspected  to  be  the  advisers  of  all 
the  measures,  and  even  procurers  of  the  instructions  to  ]>e  com- 
plained of  as  grievances,  men  who  are  looked  upon  as  enemies 
to  the  House  and  to  the  Pe<jple,  attached  to  the  Proprietaries  by 
profitable  offices  held  during  pleasure,  it  seems  as  if  it  would 
answer  no  good  end,  but  rather  tend  to  continue  and  increase  con- 
tention, if  the  Council  are  to  consider  the  complaints  and  advise 
the  answers."  Of  the  Council  at  that  time,  Peters  was  Secretary 
of  the  Land  Office,  Chew  Attorney-General,  and  Lardner  (brother 
of  Richard  I^enn's  wife)  Recei\er-General  of  the  Land  Office; 
but  ex-Ciovernor  Hamilton,  rather  than  the  last  named,  joined 
Peters  and  Chew  as  leaders.  The  remaining  members  were 
Logan,  whose  father  had  l)een  higher  than  Peters  in  the  Proprie- 
taries' confidence,  and  Strettell,  Shoemaker,  Cadwalader,  and 
Miffiin,  in  no  way  affiliated  with  the  Penns,  excei)t  by  their  mem- 
bership of  such  a  body.  On  March  21,  report  came  from  Indians 
on  their  wa\-  to  the  expected  treaty  that  800  French  and  Indians 
were  at  the  head  of  the  west  branch  of  the  Susquehanna,  getting 
ready  their  canoes  to  come  against  Fort  Augusta.  Part  of  the 
Pro\incial  troops  ordered  to  re-enforce  it  refused  until  they  should 
be  paid.  Loudoun  thereupon  requested  Denny  to  waive  the  in- 
structions, and  pass  the  bill,  which  was  accordingly  done  on  the 
23rd.     By  ^lay  the  attack  on  Fort  Augusta  had  not  taken  place, 

469 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

the  term  of  enlislment  ni"  tlie  troops  had  expired,  and  they,  (hs- 
couraged  at  the  slowness  of  pay.  had  not  re-enhsted ;  500  men 
were  being  raised  through  Ixnmties.  and  the  45,000/.  issued  under 
the  last  act  had  been  exhausted.  The  Lieutenant-Governor  could 
do  nothing-  less  than  consent  to  an  act  for  issuing  hills  of  credit 
for  the  balance  of  the  100,000/. 

Tee(lyuscung;'s  return  being  delayed,  and  a  great  many  of  the 
Six  Nations  who  had  come  to  meet  him  being  anxious  to  get 
home,  the  Governor  and  Croghan,  in  the  presence  of  John  Stan- 
wix,  a  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Royal  American  Regiment,  and 
attended  by  the  committee  of  the  Assembly  and  others,  met 
those  chiefs  at  Lancaster,  in  ?^Liy.  Their  spokesman  said  con- 
cerning any  frauds  upon  the  Delawares :  "They  lived  among  you. 
brothers.  Init  upon  some  difference  between  you  and  them  \\e 
thought  proper  to  remove  them.  gi\ing  them  lands  to  plant  and 
hunt  on  at  Wyoming  and  Juniata  on  Sus(|uehanna.  Btit  you. 
covetous  of  land,  made  plantations  there,  and  spoiled  their  hunt- 
ing grounds :  they  then  complained  to  us,  and  we  looked  over 

those  lands,  and  found  their  complaints  to  be  true The 

French  became  acquainted  with  all  the  causes  of  complaint  they 
had  against  you;  and  as  your  people  were  daily  increasing  their 
settlements,  by  this  means  you  drove  them  back  into  the  arms  of 
the  French,  and  they  took  the  achantage  of  spiriting  them  up 
against  you  h\  telling  them:  'Children,  you  see,  and  we  have 
often  told  \()U.  how  the  English,  your  brethren,  would  serve; 
they  plant  all  the  country,  and  dri\e  you  back;  so  that  in  a  little 
time  you  will  have  no  land.  It  is  not  so  with  us;  though  we  build 
trading  houses  on  vour  land,  we  do  not  plant  it;  we  have  our 
provisions  from  over  the  great  a\  aters."  "'  The  chiefs  advised 
that  part  of  the  fields  of  the  Dela\\ares  l;e  given  back  to  them 
rather  than  there  be  any  difTerence  with  them,  and  promised  to 
make  the  Delaw-ares  and  Shawanees  bring  back  their  prisoners, 
and  urged  a  further  invitation  to  Teedyuscung  to  come  and  bring 
some  Senecas  with  him  to  ha\e  the  question  of  the  land  fully 

470 


Revolt  of  the   Delawares 

settled.  Denny  sent  accordingly,  notifying  'reedyuscung'  also 
that  the  Proprietaries  had  written  to  have  the  complaints  (jf  the 
Indians  fully  heard  and  settled  as  soon  as  possihle.  Some  of  the 
Six  Nations  agreed  to  stay  in  the  Pnjvince,  and  assist  in  protect- 
ing the  frontier.  A  band  of  Cherokees.  whom  Colonel  Arm- 
strong met  as  the  representative  of  the  Governor  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  to  whom  the  Six  Nations  consented  that  presents  be 
sent,  roamed  rdmost  to  Fort  Du<|nesne.  killing  Indians  and 
i-'renchmen.  Yet  the  ravages  by  the  enemy  continued.  Even 
Broadhead's  house  within  sight  of  Fort  Hamilton  was  Imrnt. 

On  July  7.  1757,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  declared  to  the 
Council  that  in  his  opinion  the  government  could  not  be  carried 
on  without  the  presence  of  one  of  the  [Proprietaries,  and  asked  the 
members  to  consider  the  cjuestion  of  immediatel\-  addressing  them 
on  the  subject.  Some  thought  that,  as  the  (|uestion  between  the 
Proprietaries  and  the  Assembly  was  before  the  British  govern- 
ment, and  would  keep  the  former  in  England,  it  would  be  l)etter 
to  wait.  Shoemaker  thought  not.  Others  suggested  that  per- 
haps the  Proprietaries  would  consent  to  relax  their  instructions. 
The  Lieutenant-Governor  then  determined  to  write  at  once,  and 
also  to  send  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  State  by  a  ship  ready  to 
sail. 

When  Teedyuscung  arrixed,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  had 
received  a  letter  from  the  Proprietaries  forbidding  the  Quakers 
or  anv  other  particular  bo(l\-  to  concern  themselves  in  any  treaty 
with  the  Indians,  or  on  any  ])retence  to  give  presents  to  the  In- 
dians, or  join  in  the  ])ublic  ])resents.  The  Earl  of  Halifax,  the 
letter  said,  had  cnmninnicated  to  them  a  treaty  with  Indians  held 
by  the  Ouakers  in  Philadelphia,  which  he  deemed  the  highest 
invasion  of  His  Majesty's  i)rerogative.  Therefore,  when  the 
I-'riendlv  .\ssociation  asked  to  be  allowed  to  make  presents  at  the 
coming  interview,  and  attend  it.  the  Lieutenant-Governor  could 
onlv  announce  this  new  instruction,  and  say  that  it  would  be 
prudent  in  the  Association  to  decline  going  in  a  Ixxly.      The  Asso- 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

ciation  answered  with  a  long  narration  of  the  connection  of 
Friends  with  the  late  treaties,  closing  with  these  words :  "The 
Imsiness  to  be  transacted  there  is  of  so  mncli  consequence  to  the 


Fort  Pitt,  1766 


The  dotted  outline  in  the  extreme  end  of  the 
point  shows  position  and  shape  of  Fort 
Duquesne;  the  dotted  outline  in  the  lower 
centre  the  first  Fort  Pitt.  Revised  from  plan 
made  in  1763,  the  original  of  which  is  in  the 
British  Museum,  the  location  of  modern  streets 
being  indicated 


hves.  hberties,  and  properties  of  the  people  of  this  Province  that 
should  we  omit  to  attend  there,  and  depend  on  the  Governor  and 
the  King's  agent  receiving  all  their  information  on  this  important 

472 


Revolt  of  the  Delawares 

occasion  from  the  Proprietaries'  agents  and  others  who  have  for 
some  years  past  been  concerned  in  the  transacting  of  Indian 
affairs,  we  should  be  deficient  in  our  (kity  as  Christians  and 
Englishmen,  denominations  we  hold  more  dear  to  us  tlian  any 
other  titles  or  appellations  whatsoever."  When  the  treaty  took 
place,  July  21,  1757,  Teedyuscung.  instigated  it  was  alleged  by 
Israel  PVmberton,  asked  for  a  clerk,  and  seemed  at  first  satisfied 
with  the  arrangement,  explained  by  Denny,  that  Croghan,  as  the 
King's  representative,  should  take  the  minutes,  but  two  days 
afterwards  told  Joseph  Galloway  and  other  Provincial  Commis- 
sioners that  he  would  go  home  if  the  Governor  persisted  in  refus- 
ing it.  Denny,  not  disposed  to  jeopardize  the  treaty,  yielded,  and 
Teedyuscung  appointed  Charles  Thomson,  then  master  of  the 
Friends'  School  in  Philadelphia,  who  took  minutes  as  such  clerk, 
Croghan  taking  his  own  minutes  as  agent  under  Sir  William 
Johnson,  Duche  taking  some  for  the  Governor.  Teedyuscung's 
company  included  fifty-eight  men.  Tavo  principal  men  deputed 
by  the  Senecas  came  with  forty-three  other  men  of  that  tril>e  or 
other  tribes  of  the  Six  Nations.  \\'omen  and  children  accom- 
panied both  bands.  Teedyuscung,  speaking  for  ten  nations, 
Lenape,  Wename,  Minisinks.  ^Mohicans.  Xanticokes.  and  the  orig- 
inal Five  of  the  Six  Nations,  viz. :  Senecas,  Onondagas,  Cayugas, 
Oneidas,  and  ]\Iohawks,  began  by  asking  that,  as  one  of  his  mes- 
sengers had  l>een  dangerously  wounded  by  the  shot  of  a  white 
man,  justice  should  be  done  according  to  English  laws,  and.  if  the 
wounded  Indian  died,  the  guilty  man  should  he  put  to  death  in  the 
presence  of  some  of  the  Indians.  This  the  Governor  promised, 
informing  Teedyuscung  that  the  suspected  person  was  in  jail,  and 
that  it  was  well  settled  by  the  treaties  that  if  either  an  Englishman 
or  Indian  killed  one  of  the  other  race,  he  should  be  tried  by  the 
English  laws,  and  that  the  most  skillful  doctor  in  the  colony  had 
been  sent  to  take  care  of  the  wounded  man.  Then  Teedyuscimg 
proceeded:  "The  land  is  the  cause  of  our  differences:  that  is. 
our  being  unhappily  turned  out  is  the  cause,  and  though  the  first 

473 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

settlers  might  jjurchase  the  hind  faivlw  \et  tlie\-  did  not  act  well 
nor  do  the  Indians  jnstice.  for  the}'  oiic^ht  lo  lia\e  reser\ed  some 
place   for  tlic   Indians.      Had   that  l)een   done,   these  differences 

wonld   not   lia\e  hap])ened This    I   ask,   that   I  mav  have 

some  place  for  a  settlement,  and  for  other  g'ood  ])urposes  in  which 
we  both  ag'ree,  but  as  I  am  a  free  agent  as  well  as  yon.  I  must 
not  be  bound  up.  but  haxe  liberty  to  settle  where  I  please." 
Croghan,  at  a  private  meeting  with  Teedyuscung  and  seven  of  his 
counsellors,  elicited  this  explanation  :  "The  complaints  I  made 
last  fall,  I  yet  continue:  I  think  some  lands  ha\e  been  boug'ht  by 
the  Proprietary  or  his  agents  from  Indians  who  had  not  a  right 
to  sell,  and  to  whom  the  lands  did  not  belong.  I  think  also,  when 
some  lands  ha\'e  been  sold  to  the  Proprietary  by  Indians  who  had 
a  right  to  sell  to  a  certain  place,  whether  that  purchase  was  to 
be  measured  by  miles  or  hours'  walk,  the  Proprietaries  have, 
contrary  to  agreement  or  bargain,  taken  in  more  lands  than  they 
ought  to  have  done,  and  lands  that  belonged  to  others.  I  there- 
fore now  desire  that  you  will  produce  the  writings  and  deeds  by 
which  you  hold  the  land,  and  let  them  be  read  in  public  and  exam- 
ined, that  it  may  be  fulh'  known  from  what  Indians  you  have 
bought  the  lands  you  hold,  and  how  far  your  purchases  extend; 
that  copies  of  the  whole  may  be  laid  before  King  George,  and 
])ublished  to  all  the  Provinces  under  his  government.  \Miat  is 
fairly  bought  and  paid  for,  I  make  no  further  demands  about : 
but  if  any  lands  have  been  bought  of  Indians  to  whom  these  lands 
did  not  belong,  and  who  had  no  right  to  sell  them,  I  expect  a 
satisfaction  for  these  lands.  And  if  the  Proprietaries  have  taken 
in  more  lands  than  they  bought  of  true  owners,  I  expect  likewise 
to  be  paid  for  that.  But  as  the  persons  to  whom  the  Proprietaries 
may  have  sold  these  lands,  which  of  right  belonged  to  me,  ha\'e 
made  some  settlements,  I  do  not  want  to  disturb  them,  or  force 
them  to  leave  them,  but  I  expect  a  full  satisfaction  shall  be  made 

to  the  true  ow'ners A\'e  intend  to  settle  at  \\'_\"oming,  and 

we  want  to  have  certain  boundaries  fixed  between  you  and  us. 

474 


Revolt  of  the   Delawares 

and  a  certain  tract  of  land  fixed  which  it  shall  not  be  lawful  for 
us  or  our  children  ever  to  sell,  nor  for  you  or  any  of  your  children 

ever  to  buy To  build  different  houses  from  what  we  have 

done  heretofore,  such  as  may  last  not  only  for  a  little  time,  but 
for  our  children  after  us.  we  desire  you  will  assist  us  in  making- 
our  settlements,  and  send  us  perscjns  to  instruct  us  in  building 
houses,  and  in  making  such  necessaries  as  shall  be  needful,  and 
that  persons  be  sent  to  instruct  us  in  the  Christian  religion,  which 
may  be  for  our  future  welfare,  and  to  instruct  our  children  in 
reading  and  \\  riling,  and  that  a  fair  trade  l)e  established  l>etween 
us,  and  such  persons  appointed  to  conduct  and  manage  these 
affairs  as  shall  be  agreeal)le  to  us."  In  re])ly  to  a  question  about 
Fort  Augusta,  which  was  included  in  the  bounds  desired  accord- 
ing t(;  a  plan  which  Teedyuscung  presented,  the  latter  agreed  that 
the  fort  should  belong  to  the  I^nglish  and  should  continue  as  a 
trading  house,  and  his  people  would  assist  in  defending  it.  Tlic 
plan  was  supposed  to  have  been  made  by  Charles  Thomson,  the 
writing  on  it  being  in  his  hand,  and  the  whole  proposition  was 
supposed  to  have  been  dictated  by  him  or  tlie  Quakers  in  town. 
Croghan  gave  Denny  an  opinion  that  the  real  desire  of  the  Indians 
was  to  get  a  sight  of  the  deeds,  that  they  might  know  what 
Indians  granted  the  lands,  and  that  all  were  of  opinion  that  the 
Proprietaries  had  made  fair  purchases  from  the  Six  Nations,  but 
that  the  latter  were  not  the  rightful  owners.  Croghan  and 
W'eiser  thought  that  if  the  Delawares  persisted,  it  would  occasion 
a  breach  between  them  and  the  Six  Xations.  which  would  ha\c 
fatal  consequences,  and  it  was  decided  that  it  would  be  imprudent 
to  enter  into  the  question  of  the  title  of  the  Six  Xations.  which 
should  be  left  to  Sir  William  Johnson:  so  on  Sunda}-.  July  31. 
the  Lieutenant-Cjovernor  asked  that,  as  the  land  w.as  n(»t  the 
principal  cause  of  the  Delawares  striking  Pennsyhania.  but  ()nly 
the  reason  that  they  struck  a  harder  blow,  such  matter  of  little 
moment  be  ])assed  o\er,  and  jjeace  be  made,  and  as  Sir  \\  illiam 
Johnson  liad  been  appointed  to  settle  the  complaint  as  to  the  land, 

475 


Pennsylvania   Colonial   and   Federal 


and  liis  Deput}-  had  no  power  to  suffer  any  altercation  on  that 
subject  to  take  place  here,  it  be  referred  to  Sir  W'ilham.  As  a 
convincing  proof  of  the  \-ahie  wliich  tlie  Proprietaries  set  upon 


Old  Sun  Dial  from  Fort  Pitt 

Photographed  especially  for  this  work  from  the 
original  in  the  Carnegie   Museum,  Pittsburgh 

the  friendship  of  the  Indians,  the  Proprietaries  had  agreed  to 
relinquish  the  land  west  of  the  Alleghanies  forming  part  of  the 
purchase  made  at  Albany  of  1754.  As  to  the  lands  between 
Shamokin  and  Wyoming,  which  Teedyuscung  wished  to  settle, 
476 


Revolt  of  the  Delawares 

they  had  never  been  claimed  under  any  purchase.  Teedyiiscung 
answered  the  next  day  that  he  was  well  pleased,  except  with  one 
thing,  which  he  had  ordered  to  be  written  down  by  his  clerk,  who 
had  read  it  over  to  them  three  or  four  times  and  now  would  read 
it.  The  Lieutenant-Governor  objected  to  this.  "Brother,  it  is 
true,"  replied  the  untutored  savage;  "you  are  right,  this  was  not 
formerly  practiced ;  it  never  used  to  be  so.  Don't  you  see  that  I 
aim  by  ha\ing  a  clerk  of  my  own  to  exceed  my  ancestors  by  hav- 
ing everything  for  the  best."  The  Lieutenant-Governor  ap- 
pealed to  Croghan.  who  came  to  his  assistance,  and  asked  the 
chief  to  repeat  himself  what  lie  had  to  say.  Then  Teedyuscung 
said  that  what  they  had  concluded  upon  was  this:  As  Croghan 
had  been  introduced  to  them  as  appointed  to  act  for  Sir  \\'illiam 
Johnson,  why  must  they  be  obliged  to  go  to  the  latter  to  have  the 
proofs  and  deeds  examined?  They  did  not  wish  to  go,  for  they 
did  not  kncnv  him.  and  there  were  in  his  country  Indians  who 
had  been  instrumental  in  selling  lands,  liaving  in  former  years 
usurped  that  authority,  and  called  Delawares  women.  'T  only 
want,"  said  he,  "for  the  satisfaction  of  the  Indians  of  the  ten 
nations  present,  and  also  of  all  other  Indians,  that  the  deeds  may 

be  produced  and  well  looked  into After  they  have  \^en 

fairly  taken  down,  if  you  agree  to  ibis,  then  I  shall,  by  two  l)elts 
tied  together,  take  you  by  tlie  hand,  and  with  my  uncles  confirm 
a  lasting  peace  with  you;  and  if  it  please  the  Governor  and  Mr. 
Croghan,  let  the  copy  of  the  deeds  be  sent  to  Sir  William  Johnson, 
and  to  the  King,  and  let  him  judge.  I  want  nothing  for  the  land 
till  the  King  hath  sent  letters  back:  then  if  any  of  the  lands  be 
found  to  belong  to  me,  I  expect  to  be  ])aid  for  it.  and  not  before." 
Croghan  then  said  that  the  deeds  must  be  read  and  copies  of  them 
given.  Peters  said  that  he  held  them  not  as  secretary,  but  merely 
on  a  prixate  trust,  and  if  he  showed  them  or  gave  copies,  except 
to  Sir  William  Johnson,  it  would  violate  the  express  instructions 
and  be  a  breach  of  trust,  which  he  ho])ed  the  Lieutenant-G(^vernor 
and  C(juncil  would  not  require.      William  Logan  declared  that  in 

477 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

his  opinion  it  would  be  unjust  to  the  Indians  and  injurious  to  the 
Proprietaries  not  to  show,  read,  and  explain  to  the  Indians  all 
deeds  relating  to  the  land  in  question,  with  the  names  of  those 
who  had  signed  them,  and  the  instructions  referring  the  matter 
to  Sir  William  Johnson  should  not  be  adhered  to.  The  coun- 
cillors then  rellected  that  the  deeds  were  on  record  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  the  Quakers  had  brought  exemplifications  of  them  to 
the  treaty,  so  it  could  not  hurt  the  Proprietaries  for  the  originals 
to  be  produced,  as  the  Lieutenant-Ciovernor  had  insisted  that  he 
could  not  go  into  a  defence  of  the  title :  so  all  except  Peters  agreed 
to  the  reading-  and  the  giving  of  copies  of  five  deeds,  including 
the  copy  of  the  alleged  deed  of  1686.  Weiser  obtained  Teedyus- 
cung's  consent  that  only  the  deeds  coverirg  land  north  of  Tohiccon 
should  be  produced.  So  on  August  3,  these  deeds  were  produced, 
and  peace  was  made.  Croghan  noticed  that  the  deed  of  17 18, 
which  was  a  summary  of  all  previous  deeds,  and  which  only  cov- 
ered as  far  as  the  South  mountain  below  the  Lehigh,  was  not  one 
of  the  five  deeds,  so  he  announced  that  he  expected  a  copy  of  it. 
A  few  days  later  Paxanosa,  the  Shawanee  king,  and  Abraham,  a 
Mohican  chief,  and  about  fifty  or  sixty  Indians  arri^•ed.  and  were 
informed  of  the  peace.  Croghan  then  asked  that  Teedyuscung 
join  the  Six  Nations  against  the  French.  Teedyuscung  then 
called  upon  those  present  of  the  Six  Nations  to  witness  that 
whereas  he  had  been  called  a  woman  by  his  uncles,  they  had  since 
given  him  a  tomahawk,  the  edge  of  which  he  would  turn  against 
the  French. 


478 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

THE  EXPULSION'  OI-"  Till-:  FRi:.\CII 

Tl  1 1'",  treaty  at  Easton  had  a  g-ood  effect.  Eittle  or  no  mischief 
was  done  on  the  borders  that  winter.  After  the  treats- 
was  over  and  'I'ecdyuscung-  was  rcturnini^-  to  Tioga  Point, 
lie  met  messengers  from  the  (^hio  ln(hans,  who  announced  that 
they  were  sorry  that  they  had  struck  the  Enghsli.  and  would  do 
what  he  told  thcni.  He  informed  them  of  the  peace,  and  that  he 
A\()uld  give  them  a  tomahawk  against  the  l*"rench.  and  would  bring 
them  down  to  I'liiladelphia  for  a  treaty.  He  himself  made  fre- 
(|uent  visits  to  Philadelphia,  the  first  being  at  the  end  of  that 
month,  when  he  rei)orted  this  interview,  and  also  a.sked  for  a  copy 
of  the  deed  of  1718.  and  the  reason  why  the  treaty  had  not  been 
published.  On  Denny  explaining  that  it  was  Sir  William  John- 
son's business  to  order  any  publication,  and  that  Croghan  had  so 
reminded  Dennv,  Teedyuscung  said  that  Croghan  was  a  rogue, 
and  that  he  himself  would  ha\e  nothing  to  do  with  him  or  John- 
son. Denn}-  handed  over  the  desired  cop}-  of  the  deed,  and  ga\e 
Teedyuscung  assurance  that  the  treaty  would  be  published.  Two 
members  of  the  Assembly  asked  Denny  if  lie  hail  ])o\\er  lo  c^  nisent 
to  an  act.  which  they  offered  to  have  the  Assembly  pass,  to  vest  in 
the  Indians  and  their  posterity  the  lands  which  they  desired  to  be 
reserved  for  them.  The  draft  or  ])lan  of  these  lands  not  being 
clear,  and  it  being  imprudent  to  make  an  appropriation  ol  land 
not  released  b\-  the  Six  Nations.  Denny  replied  that,  while  he  had 
not  the  power,  he  would  write  to  the  Proprietaries  for  such  power. 

479 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

and  in  liaxe  the  necessary  permission  solicited  from  the  Six  Na- 
tions. 

The  Assembly,  on  hearing  of  the  surrender  of  Fort  Wilham 
Henry.  l)y  act  authorized  the  Lieutenant-Governor  to  send  i.ooo 
men  to  the  defence  of  the  province  of  New  York.  In  Septemljer, 
Lord  Loudoun  ordered  the  Second  battalion  of  tlie  Royal  Amer- 
icans to  march  to  Carlisle,  and  join  Colonel  Stan\\  ix  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  back  settlements.  Frenchmen  and  Indians  came  to 
^linisink  to  reconnoitre;  but,  in  spite  of  Teedyuscung's  wishes,  a 
reward  for  scalps  was  not  offered,  Weiser  suggesting  that  the 
pro\ince  would  be  paying  for  the  scalps  of  its  own  people.  John 
Hughes,  Edward  Shippen  (grandson  of  the  former  President  of 
the  Council),  James  Galbreath,  and  Rev.  Charles  Beatty  went  to 
Wyoming  to  Imild  houses  and  a  little  fort,  as  Teedyuscung  ex- 
pected to  remove  from  Tioga  to  that  place  in  the  following  May. 

Owing  to  the  illness  of  Isaac  Norris,  Thomas  Leech,  a  mer- 
chant of  Philadelphia,  was  chosen  Speaker  of  the  Assembly  on 
January  2.  1758.  A  report  was  made  to  the  Council  as  to  the 
\\'alking  Purchase.  Some  of  the  points  made  were  good,  but  it 
would  at  the  present  day  be  called  a  "whitewash."  Logan  did 
not  sign  it,  and  was  not  present  at  the  Council  on  January  6,  when 
it  was  unanimously  adopted. 

The  Earl  of  Loudoun  was  ordered  back  to  England,  and 
]\Iajor-General  James  Abercrombie  succeeded  him  as  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  forces  in  America.  Teedyuscung  came  again  to 
Philadelphia  in  March,  and  was  as  spirited,  not  to  say  rude,  as 
usual.  He  asked  for  a  clerk;  on  which  request  the  councillors  de- 
bated for  more  than  an  hour,  and  then  caused  a  message  to  be  sent 
that  for  the  pri\ate  interview  which  was  expected  the  old  custom 
of  having  no  one  present  but  the  councillors  on  both  sides  would 
be  followed.  Teedyuscung  replied  that  he  was  tired  of  waiting, 
was  at  dinner,  and  w(3uld  bring  his  clerk,  or  not  speak  at  all.  The 
difficulty  was  solved  by  holding  a  public  conference  in  the  council 
chamlier  at  the  State  House  in  presence  of  many  persons,  when 

480 


The  Expulsion  of  the   French 


the  calumet  sent  to  liim  in  reply  to  the  publication  of  peace  was 
smoked  in  turn  by  himself,  then  the  Governor,  and  Shoemaker, 
Logan,  and  Peters  of  the  Council,  and  the  Speaker  and  members 
of  the  Assembly.  Eight  nations,  tlie  Ottawas,  Twightees, 
Chippewas,  Tawas,  Cauglinawagos.  Mahoowas,  Pietoatoniows, 
and  Nalashawaw  nas.  had  taken  liold  <»f  the  covenant  belt  in  addi- 
tion to  the  ten  for  which  he  liad  spoken  at  the  treaty.     A  week 


Birthplace  of  Robert  Fulton 

Kngraved    for    this    work    from    a    negative    by 
D.  E.  Brinton 

later,  when  the  Lieutenant-Cjovernor  made  his  reply  accepting  this 
alliance,  and  thanking  Teedyuscung,  the  latter  re]3eated  his  re- 
quest for  the  benefits  of  civilization  :  "Brother,  you  must  con- 
sider I  have  a  soul  as  well  as  another  and  I  think  it  proper  you 
should  let  me  ha\e  two  ministers  to  teach  nie.  that  my  soul  may 
be  instructed  and  saved  at  last.  Brother,  and  I  desire,  moreover, 
two  schoolmasters,  for  there  are  a  great  many  Indian  children 
who  want  schoolmasters.  One  therefore  is  not  sufficient  t(~)  teach 
them  all,  so  that  they  may  be  suflnciently  instructed  in  the  Chris- 
tian wav.  Brother.  1  have  a  body  as  well  as  a  soul.  I  want  two 
men  to  instruct  me  and  sliow  me  the  \\a\s  ol  lixiii!"".  and  how  to 


I— .31 


481 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and  Federal 

conduct  temporal  affair?,  wlio  may  teach  mc  in  everything  to  do 
as  vou  do  yourselves,  that  1  max  li\e  as  \<)U  do,  and  likewise  who 
may  watch  over  me,  and  take  care  of  ni}-  things,  that  nobody  may 
cheat  me."  He  asked  the  hljerty  of  choosing  the  ministers.  He 
said :  "You  tell  us  the  Christian  religion  is  good,  and  we  lielieve 
it  to  l)e  so,  partly  ni)on  the  crecht  of  }-our  words,  and  partly  he- 
cause  we  see  that  some  of  our  l)rother  Indians  who  were  wicked 
before  they  became  Christians  live  better  lives  now  than  they  for- 
merly did."  He  wanted  two  instructors  in  temporal  affairs,  so 
that  if  one  proved  dishonest,  the  other  might  prevent  him  from 
imposing  upon  the  Indians.  Se^'eral  Cherokees  had  been  sent 
through  Philadelphia,  accompanied  by  some  iNIohawks,  on  their 
way  from  Sir  William  Johnson,  who  was  by  them  inviting  the 
Cherokee  and  other  southern  nations  of  Indians  to  make  a  treaty 
of  alliance  with  him.  News  came  that  several  more  had  arrived 
at  \Vinchester,  prepared  to  start  out  against  the  French  and  the 
Ohio  Indians.  Teedyuscung  asked  that  a  messenger  be  sent  to 
his  friends  on  the  Ohio,  warning  them  to  separate  from  the 
French,  so  as  not  with  them  to  be  cut  off,  and  also  a  messenger  to 
the  Cherokees  to  stop  the  latter,  for  if  they  did  any  injury,  it 
would  be  attributed  to  the  English,  wlio  had  hired  them.  Denny 
had  reason  to  believe  that  the  Cherokees  hated  the  Delawares  and 
Shawanees,  and  did  not  wish  these  to  become  friends  of  the  Eng- 
lish, the  hope  being  that  they  would  be  destroyed.  Denny  wrote 
to  George  Washington,  or  whoever  commanded  the  \^irginia 
troops,  leaving-  to  him  the  nice  point  how  to  communicate  the 
news  of  the  peace  to  the  Cherokees  without  disgusting  them  so 
much  that  the}'  would  leave  the  service.  Then  Denny  sent  to  the 
Ohio  Indians  the  pipe  which  William  Penn  smoked  on  his  first 
arrival  in  the  country,  and  which  had  been  preserved  by  his  order 
to  that  day.  Denny  was  not  free  to  send  any  invitation  to  the 
eight  nations  of  which  Teedyuscung  had  spoken,  from  apprehen- 
sion that  in  some  way  the  plans  of  Sir  William  Johnson  might  be 
interfered  with.     Tied  hand  and  foot  b\'  his  many  masters,  this 

482 


The  Expulsion  of  the   French 

occupant  of  tlie  gubernatorial  chair  only  occasionally  C(.)uld  slip 
for  an  inch  or  so,  or  change  the  position  of  his  cords.  Appar- 
ently he  found  the  matrimonial  tie  the  most  irksome;  for  his  treat- 
ment of  his  wife  came  to  be  resented  l)y  the  ladies,  so  Franklin 
tells  us. 

On  December  30,  1757,  Pitt  as  Secretary  of  State  communi- 
cated the  King's  commands  for  a  large  force  to  be  raised  in  the 
colonies  south  of  Pennsylvania  inclusive,  ready  to  take  the  field 
as  soon  after  ^la.\  i  as  possible,  under  the  command  of  Brigadier- 
General  John  Forbes.  On  receipt  of  this,  the  Assembly  of  Penn- 
sylvania voted  to  raise,  pay,  and  clothe  2,700  men,  including  those 
then  in  service.  Teedyuscung  asked  that  the  whole  conquest  of 
the  Ohio  be  left  to  him ;  with  one  blow  he  would  drive  the  enemies 
of  the  English  into  the  sea:  but  Robert  Strettell.  in  Denny's  ab- 
sence, explained  that  the  expedition  must  go;  then  Teedyuscung 
promised  to  accompany  it,  l)ut  with  his  own  captains  over  his 
people. 

The  Assembly  passed  a  l)ill  for  granting  100,000/.  for  tiie  mili- 
lary  exjjenses,  and  le\}ing  a  tax  on  all  estates  real  and  personal. 
Denn}-  ])roposed  to  amend  it  so  that  the  Proprietaries'  estates 
should  not  be  taxed  by  the  same  mode  as  those  of  the  inhabitants, 
but  asked  the  House  not  to  understand  him  as  wishing  to  exempt 
the  Proprietaries'  estates,  which  in  fact,  he  said,  was  not  desired 
])}•  those  gentlemen  themseh-es.  They  were  willing  that  every 
tract  surveyed  and  appropriated  for  their  use  should  bear  an  equal 
share  of  the  burdens  imposed  for  defence.  j\s  the  estates  of  the 
people  were  to  be  rated  and  assessed  by  assessors  chosen  by  the 
])eople.  so,  he  argued,  the  estates  of  the  Proprietaries  sliould  be 
rated  and  assessed  only  by  those  in  the  choice  of  whom  they  had 
a  voice;  therefore  he  offered  to  concur  in  a  separate  bill  putting 
the  taxation  of  such  estates  into  the  hands  of  commissioners  to  be 
accepted  by  him  as  i)art  of  the  act  and  named  therein.  He  also 
informed  the  I  lousv  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to  trans- 
act anv  business  with  loseph  Fox.  John  Hughes,  William  Masters. 

483 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

Joseph  Galloway,  and  jithn  llaxnton,  who  had  been  commissioners 
under  the  last  money  hill,  and  were  among  those  named  in  this. 
Not  only  had  they  treated  him  with  discourtesy,  they  had  ex- 
pended money  without  obtaining-  his  consent,  or  even  consulting 
him,  contrary  to  the  directions  of  the  act  appointing  them,  and 
liad  held  meetings  without  giving  notice  to  Lardner  and  Mifflin, 
their  fellow  commissioners.  He  moreover  disapproved  of  mem- 
bers of  Assembly  acting  as  commissioners.  The  House  adhered 
to  the  bill  in  every  respect.  The  Lieutenant-Governor  then  re- 
jected it.  and  said  that  he  would  send  to  the  King  a  copy,  with  his 
reasons  for  rejecting  it.  The  money  being  required,  General 
Abercrombie  writing  from  New  York,  General  Forbes  arri^•ing  in 
Philadelphia,  forty  Cherokees  coming  to  Fort  Loudoun  naked 
and  without  arms  and  to  be  provided  for,  the  Assembly  passed  an- 
other bill  for  iQQ.QOo/.,  naming  the  same  commissioners,  but  ex- 
empting the  Proprietary  estates.  Denny  sent  down  his  amend- 
ments. He  objected  among  other  things  to  a  clause  intimating 
that  the  money  under  the  former  bill  had  been  expended  with  his 
consent,  whereas  he  declared  that  he  did  not  know  how  the  com- 
missioners had  spent  the  money,  and  that  they  had  not  filed  any 
account.  Their  account,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  was  before  a  com- 
mittee of  the  House.  The  House  adhering  to  the  bill,  the  Coun- 
cil, after  serious  deliberation,  on  April  22,  Strettell,  Peters.  Mifflin, 
Turner.  Lardner,  and  Cadwalader  being  present,  unanimously 
recommended  that  the  Lieutenant-Governor  yield,  which  he  signi- 
fied in  a  written  message  that  he  did  under  protest.  General 
Forbes  having  made  requisition  for  218  light  fusees  and  165  arms 
in  the  public  store,  and  Denny  having  given  an  order  for  the  same 
on  Thomas  Janvier,  the  provincial  armorer,  Hughes,  Galloway, 
Baynton,  and  Masters  forbade  him  to  deli\'er  them.  The  Gen- 
eral expostulating,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  gave  a  peremptory 
order,  and  told  the  armorer  that  he  would  indemnify  him. 

Sir  William  Johnson  approved  of  Denny  sending  an  invitation 
to  the  Indians  inclinefl  to  peace.      Ravages  at  this  time  recom- 

484 


The   P>.\pulsi()ii   of  the   P^rench 


mencing-,  Teedyuscung"  sent  Indians  to  range  the  frontiers,  but 
they  got  drunk ;  he  sent  his  sons  to  the  Ohio,  but  they  took  fright, 
and  Avould  not  leave  Fort  Allen  until  he  went  there.  Such  was 
the  terror  at  Reading  that  Forbes  ])rnmised  that  too  Highlanders 
should  guard  the  town,  frr)m  which  promise  he  felt  compelled  to 
recede,  leaxing  such  work  to  pro\incial  soldiers. 


^-  ->^^^\jrvj/i 

^>\     !^H 

^^^^ 

i^r^  ^^"^^^NJcf^ 

^sMc 

Ik  *5^^1 

^■B 

¥''^"^13 

W^S/Sm^ 

^"-^1 

Wm 

y^-  ^   w 

Et^S 

ffifluZv  _, 

^/^                                              .  -^^■■^L- 

^^f^K.f]/'"  .^^^^■M 

^P^^^^^i '"^  "^ '^^^H 

■^B^^ 

Ijhap-"^^^ 

1^BSk*~~~~%^h 

V^T"^/'' 

'"^T"^    BbI  1 

^■1  --^^ 

m'^^- 

a^^^Si^ 

tn^^^^^^m 

Mpfc^jB 

BJLi^jj 

Wr^ 

F^ 

'^^»K 

^^^&^mM 

pr'* 

^^s 

•^lyBHj 

^^^ 

RHI^^j^ 

;  H     « ■*    2< 

mB 

pm 

,i 

rp 

~^x3E 

.«•.«»      - ,  - 

- 

1 

:^. 

The  Jolm    Harris   Mansion.  Harrisljuri; 

Built  1-66;  engraved  for  this  work  from  a  pho- 
tograph in  possession  of  the  Historical  Society 
of   Dauphin  County,  Pennsylvania 

The  Asseml)ly,  replying  to  Denny's  message  of  April  22, 
asked  if  the  tracts  surveyed  and  appropriated  for  the  Proprietaries' 
use  were  all  the  propertv  which  thcv  were  willing  to  ha\e  assessed 
for  the  immediate  preservation  of  their  own  fortunes.  Must  the 
quit  rents  arising  from  se\eral  millions  of  acres,  the  large  estate 
in  ground  rents,  etc.,  be  exempted?  The  Assembly  repeated  a 
former  criticism  on  Denny's  management  of  the  provincial  troops. 
Had  he  not  had  1,400  men  under  his  command,  and  yet  permitted 


485 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

the  most  triHing-  ])arties  of  Indians  to  (le])o])ulate  a  i^Teat  part  of 
the  "province,  while  the  troops  were  inactive  in  the  forts?  Had 
not  orders  to  make  incnrsions  int(^  the  enemy's  conntry,  although 
express!}-  directed  h}-  law,  heen  entirclx-  neglected?  Had  a  single 
party  been  sent  out  on  this  account,  or  one  of  the  enemy  been 
killed,  or  taken  prisoner,  during  his  administration?  Had  not 
the  people  been  surprised  and  ninrdered  in  their  beds,  when  but 
for  this  neglect  they  might  have  had  timely  notice,  and  defended 
themsehes?  In  short,  what  protection  or  defence  had  the  un- 
hap]\v  colony  received  from  the  large  sums  of  money  given? 

John  Hughes  and  Henry  Pawling  started  on  May  15  from 
Bethlehem  wMth  50  or  60  carpenters,  masons,  and  laborers,  march- 
ing across  the  country  to  Wyoming,  which  they  reached  on  the 
22nd.  Not  meeting  on  their  arrival  the  batteaux  from  Fort  Au- 
gusta, they  were  for  some  time  short  of  provisions,  and  for  sev- 
eral days  without  bread,  and  one  of  the  masons  was  killed  and 
scalped  by  a  party  of  Indians  :  but  in  the  ten  days  of  their  stay  ten 
houses,  mostly  20  feet  by  14,  and  one  24  by  16,  were  finished,  and 
some  land  ploughed  and  rails  split.  Will  Sock,  a  Conestoga,  had 
been  over  the  country  carrying  a  French  flag,  and  had  murdered 
Chagrea  and  a  "Dutchman"  in  Lancaster  county.  Teedyuscung 
took  away  the  flag,  sent  it  to  Philadelphia,  and  gave  him  an  Eng- 
lish flag.  Meanwhile,  the  building  of  a  fort  at  Wyoming,  and 
the  entrance  of  Cherokees  into  the  province  made  the  Indians  at 
Tioga  and  Osaningo  very  uneasy,  and  there  was  some  ejalousy 
of  Teedyuscung.  Paxinosa  and  his  familv  decided  to  move  to  the 
Ohio,  and  many  had  already  gone  in  that  direction.  The  Rev. 
Christian  Frederick  Post,  the  Moravian  missionary,  and  Charles 
Thomson  were  sent  to  Teedyuscung  to  explain  as  to  the  Chero- 
kees, and  to  caution  the  friendly  Indians  to  remain  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Susquehanna.  These  messengers  went  as  far  as  the 
Nescopecken  mountains,  where  hearing  that  hostile  warriors 
\vere  skulking  in  the  woods,  they  sent  for  Teedyuscung-,  who 
came  from  his  new  residence  at  Wyoming,  and  explained  that 

486 


The   Expulsion  of  the   French 

he  could  not  invite  the  messengers  to  his  house  for  fear  of  ill  he- 
falling  them  fn^m  the  Indians  that  lay  "squatting  in  the  hush." 
JTe  expected  a  great  many,  including  all  the  W'anamis  and  Mo- 
hicans, to  come  during  the  summer  to  live  with  him.  and  he  begged 
for  provisions  for  them,  maize  and  flour,  and  also  jiowder  and 
shot,  to  he  sent  to  Sliamokin.  whence  by  way  of  the  river  it  was 
easier  to  transport  them  tiian  from  Fort  Allen.  He  assured  Post 
and  Thomson  that  the  lielt  repeating  an  invitation  to  the  Senecas 
would  reach  their  chief  man  in  eight  days,  and  there  must  be  a 
treaty  during  that  summer,  the  Onondagas  having  alreday  i)r'>m- 
ised  to  attend.  Two  Cherokee  chiefs  sent  words  of  friendship 
to  Teeclyuscung,  advising  the  Delawares  not  to  go  to  the  war.  but 
to  leave  the  fighting  to  the  Cherokees,  and  reported  the  services  of 
the  latter  to  the  English  in  killing  12  Frenchmen,  u  Tawas.  and 
2  Shawanees,  and  asked  that  the  Lenape  on  the  Ohio  l)e  brought 
away,  lest  the  tomahawk  of  the  Cherokees,  which  was  exceedingly 
sharp,  should  kill  some  by  mistake.  Eet  the  Shawanees  and 
Tawas  remain,  said  the  Cherokees;  time  out  of  mind,  the  Tawas 
had  been  at  war  ^\  itii  the  Cherokees.  Rev.  C.  V.  Post  took  this 
message  to  Teedyuscung,  and  at  \\'yoming  met  Indians  from  the 
Alleghenv  who  expressed  sorrow  for  turning  against  the  English, 
and  complained  that  the\'  had  heard  no  satisfactory  account  of  the 
peace  made  at  Easton,  nor  received  any  belts  until  lately,  whereas 
had  messengers  come  from  the  government  of  the  province,  the 
war  would  have  ceased.  Post  said  that  the  messengers  had  been 
sent.  An  old  chief  li\ing  above  the  Allegheny  said  that  it  would 
be  of  great  consequence  to  his  people  if  the  Governor  would  send 
somebody  to  them  1  m  his  return.  Tnt'nrniatinn  was  gathered  that 
at  h'ort  Ducpiesne  were  i.ioo  French  soldiers  almost  starved, 
who  would  ha\e  abandoned  the  place,  had  not  the  Mohawks 
hcl])ci|  them.  The  ])ro\isions  came  from  the  Mississippi.  The 
ciinimander  had  said  "if  the  hjiglish  come  too  strong  upon  me.  I 
will  !ea\e."  Two  of  these  Allegheny  Indians  came  (knvn  to  Phil- 
adelphia, and  were  induced  to  go  as  quicklv  as  possi1)le  to  the 

4S- 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

Ohio,  and  observe  wliat  was  taking  place  at  Fort  Du(|iiesne.  and 
send  a  messeng-er  back  from  Beaver  Creek.  Post  agreed  to  ac- 
com])any  them,  but  asked  for  some  other  white  men.  Charles 
Thomson  offered  to  go,  but  the  Lientenant-Governor  objected, 
telling  Post  to  take  any  other  person,  and  to  get  trnsty  Indians 
from  the  Rev.  'Mr.  Spangenberg  at  Bethlehem.  \\'ritten  accounts 
of  the  conferences  and  all  the  belts  and  strings  delivered  with  the 
speeches  were  handed  to  Post  and  the  two  Allegheny  Indians. 
Post  taking  with  him  abstracts,  the  party  set  out  from  Philadel- 
phia on  July  15. 

Francis  Bernard,  an  old  acquaintance  of  Denny,  arrived  in 
New  Jersey  as  Governor  of  that  province,  just  after  the  Muncys 
had  made  an  incursion,  and  had  inflicted  the  usual  barbarities. 
Taking  measures  for  defence,  planning  to  make  a  peace  with 
Denny's  assistance,  or,  if  unsuccessful  in  that,  to  pursue  the 
Muncys  to  the  heart  of  their  own  settlements,  Bernard  held  a 
pow-wow  at  Burlington  in  presence  of  Denny  and  Chew,  Turner, 
and  Peters,  and  agreed  to  attend  a  treaty  at  Easton. 

Meanwhile,  by  the  labors  of  General  Forbes,  who.  taken  sick 
upon  his  arrival  in  Philadelphia  in  April,  was  overworking  him- 
self with  details  which  in  a  better  organized  service  would  have 
been  attended  to  by  sergeants  and  quartermasters,  an  army  of 
about  7,000  men  had  been  set  in  motion  against  Fort  Du(|uesne 
The  forces  raised  by  Pennsylvania,  called  a  regiment,  were  in 
tliree  battalions,  the  general  officers  being  Brevet  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Joseph  Shippen  (son  of  Edward  Shippen  of  Lancaster)  : 
Commissary  of  the  Musters  and  Paymaster,  James  Young  (who 
had  married  the  daughter  of  Dr.  Graeme  of  the  Governor's  Coun- 
cil) ;  Surgeon,  Dr.  Bond;  Chaplain.  Rev.  Thomas  Barton  (the 
Church  of  England  minister  at  Lancaster)  ;  ^^"agon  Master,  Rob- 
ert Irwin,  and  deputy  ^^'agon  ^Master,  Mordecai  Thompson  of 
Chester  county.  The  first  battalion  was  commanded  by  Colonel 
John  Armstrong,  the  leader  of  the  Kittanning  Expedition;  under 
him  were  Lieutenant-Colonels  Hance  Hamilton  of  York.  Major 

488 


\\"illi:im  Allen 


Recorder  of  Philadelphia    1741;  chief  justice  of 
Pennsylvania   1750-1774 


The  Expulsion  of  the   French 

Jacob  Orndt.  Surgeon  Blain.  Chaplain  Kev.  Charles  Reatty  (a 
Presbyterian).  Adjutant  John  Philip  de  Haas,  and  Quartermaster 
Thomas  Smallman.  The  sixteen  companies  were  respectively 
led,  as  far  as  we  have  ascertained,  by  Samuel  Allen,  James  Potter, 
Jacob  Snaidor,  George  Armstrong,  Edward  Ward,  Robert  Cal- 
lender,  John  Nicholas  \\'etterholt,  William  Lyon,  Patrick  Davis, 
Charles  Garraway,  William  Armstrong.  Richard  Waller.  David 
Hunter,  and  John  McKnight.  The  second  battalion  was  com- 
manded by  Colonel  James  Hurd.  a  Scotchman  by  birth,  who  had 
married  into  the  Ship])en  famil\-.  and  lived  not  far  from  Harris's 
l^>rry.  the  present  Harrisburg.  His  Lieutenant-Cf)lonel  was 
Thomas  Lloyd,  a])])arcntly  the  ])hysician  <')f  that  name  who  was 
great-grandson  of  the  former  Lieutenant-Governor;  the  Major 
being  David  Jamison,  and  the  other  officers  Surgeon  John  Mor- 
gan, Chaplain  Rev.  John  Steel  (Presbyterian).  Adjutant  Jacob 
Kern,  Quartermaster  Asher  Clayton,  Commissary  Peter  Bard. 
James  Hayes  took  Colonel  Burd's  company,  and  was  wounded  at 
Grant's  defeat  hereafter  mentioned;  Samuel  Miles  of  Philadelphia 
county  as  Lieutenant  took  Lieutenant-Colonel  Lloyd's  company, 
and  was  wounded  in  an  attack  by  French  and  Indians  at  Ligonier. 
The  other  companies  apparently  were  led  by  Christian  Busse,  Jo- 
seph Scott,  Samuel  J.  Atlee.  William  Patterson.  William  Reynolds, 
Martin  Heidler  ( a])parently  only  an  ensign),  Levi  Trump  (who 
was  the  third  husband  of  President  Anthony  Palmer's  widow), 
Jacob  Morgan,  Samuel  Weiser,  Alexander  McKee.  John  Bycrs, 
John  Haslett,  John  Singleton,  and  Robert  b^asiburn.  The  third 
battalion  was  ctjmmanded  by  Colonel  Hugh  Mercer,  whose  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel was  Patrick  Work,  and  the  other  officers  were 
Major  ( ieorgc  Armstrong.  Surgeon  Robert  P)ines.  Chaplain  Rc\'. 
Andrew  Bay,  Adjutant  James  E\\ing.  (Juartermaster  Thomas 
Hutchins,  and  Sergeant-ALijor  Samuel  Culbertson.  The  com- 
manders of  companies  appear  to  ha\e  been  Robert  Boyd.  John 
Blackwood,  James  Sharp,  Adam  Read.  Samuel  Nelson,  John 
Montgomery,  George  Aston,  Charles  McChmg,  Rrjbert  McPher- 

491 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

son,  Paul  Jackson  (  who  was  Professor  of  Latin  at  the  College  of 
Philadelphia).  John  Bull,  William  Biles,  Archibald  McGrew, 
Thomas  Hamilton,  Ludowick  Stone,  John  Clark,  John  Allison, 
Job  Rushton,  Thomas  Smith,  Alexander  Graydon,  James  Hynd- 
shaw,  A\"illiam  Biles  of  Bucks  County,  and  Thomas  Armour  of 
\'ork  Count}-.  Two  troops  of  light  horse,  commanded  respect- 
ively l)y  William  Thompson  and  John  Hambright,  were  also 
raised.  Some  of  the  minor  officers  above  mentioned,  like  Major 
Orndt,  and  some  of  the  companies  were  assigned  to  garrisoning 
posts  like  Fort  Augusta,  but  the  greater  part  of  2.700  Pennsyl- 
vanians  took  part  in  Forbes's  expedition,  in  which  there  were  also 
1,200  regular  soldiers  of  the  regiment  known  as  the  Highlanders, 
350  of  the  Royal  American  regiment,  1,600  Virginians  under 
Washington,  and  others.  Bouquet  was  a  Lieutenant-Colonel  of 
the  Royal  Americans,  and  was  put  in  command  of  the  advance 
guard.  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  Braddock's  Quartermaster-General, 
had  the  same  position  under  Forbes,  and  after  an  errand  to  Vir- 
ginia went  to  meet  Bouquet,  and  proceeded  to  Carlisle  in  the 
middle  of  June.  Bouquet  advanced  to  Raystown  (Bedford). 
Washington  brought  his  troops  to  Fort  Cumberland,  only  Ste- 
phens's two  companies  going  by  way  of  Shippensburg  to  Rays- 
town.  Parties  began  to  open  a  road  from  Fort  Cumberland  to 
the  latter  place,  and  to  repair  Braddock's  road.  Washington  and 
Bouquet  in  a  conference  differed  as  to  route,  the  former  urging 
that  pursued  by  Braddock.  who  had  widened  and  completed  a  road 
to  within  six  miles  of  Fort  Duciuesne.  Bouquet  wished  a  new 
one  cut  directly  from  Raystown.  Washington  writes  :  "If  Colonel 
Bouquet  succeeds  in  this  point  \\ith  the  General,  all  is  lost, — -all  is 
lost,  indeed — our  enterprise  will  be  ruined  and  we  shall  be  stopped 
at  the  Laurel  Hill  this  winter;  but  not  to  gather  laurel's  except  of 
the  kind  that  covers  the  mountains."  The  reasons  for  the  Rays- 
town route  \Aere  it  was  a  few  miles  shorter,  better  forage  was  to 
be  found,  grass  growing  to  the  foot  of  the  ridge  of  mountains, 
there  were  fewer  defiles,  and  no  considerable  rivers.     St.  Clair 

492 


The  Expulsion  of  the   French 


agreed  with  Bouquet,  and  Forbes,  proceeding  in  July  to  Carlisle, 
adopted  that  plan,  under  Pennsylvania  influence,  Washington  as- 
serted. It  was  then  suggested  that  Washington  be  allowed  to 
take  the  troops  he  had  at  Fort  Cumberland,  by  way  of  Braddock's 
road,  and  afterwards  to  unite 
•with  the  main  army,  but  Wash- 
ington represented  the  bad  ef- 
fect of  dividing  strength,  and  in 
September  was  ordered  to 
march  to  Raystown,  Fort  Cum- 
berland being  left  to  the  care  uf 
Maryland  militia.  With  in- 
flammation of  the  stomach 
Forbes  was  kept  at  Carlisle  un- 
til August  II.  and  was  then 
carried,  much  emaciated,  on  a 
litter  between  two  horses  to 
Shippensberg.  There  his  weak- 
ness kept  him  until  September. 
St.  Clair  had  gone  from  Bed- 
ford to  make  the  road.  Park- 
man's  "Montcalm  and  Wolfe" 
says  that  he  was  extremely  in- 
efficient. It  quotes  him  :  "The 
greatest  curse  that  our  Lord  can 
pronounce  against  the  worst  of 
sinners  is  to  give  tliem  business 
to  do  \\-ith  provincial  commis- 
sioners and  friendly  Indians." 
From  I. GOO  to  2,000  men  constantly  w(irked  at  the  road.  W  hile 
the  main  brxly  of  the  arni\'  was  at  Raystown.  Bouquet  allowed 
Grant  of  the  Highlanders  with  800  men  to  make  a  reconnoissance 
from  Loyal  Hanna.  Thev  reached  what  was  since  called  (irant's 
Hill,  overlooking  Fort     Duquesne    on  Sept.    14.     Here  by  the 

493 


•  Pennsylvania- Marylanil 

Five  Mile  Stone 

One  of  the  original  Mason  and  Dixon  Line 
markers,  showing  the  Calvert  Arms.  En- 
graved for  this  work  from  a  negative  by  D.  E. 
iirinton 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

division  of  his  forces  an  attack  upon  the  open  field  l)efore  the  fort 
was  not  supported  :  the  French  and  Inchans  were  in  g-reat  numbers, 
and  put  the  Highlanders  opposed  to  them  to  rout.  Piecemeal  the 
various  detachments  were  surrounded  and  decimated,  Grant  him- 
self being  captured.  The  total  loss  was  273  killed,  wounded,  and 
taken,  among  the  wounded  being  Quartermaster  Clayton.  Bou- 
quet, receiving  the  returning  party,  was  harassed  by  a  body  of 
French  hovering  near  his  camp  at  Loyal  Hanna,  while  Forbes, 
having  reached  Raystown,  was  detained  by  heavy  rains. 

On  October  8,  Denny  and  Croghan  held  another  treaty  with 
the  Indians,  in  presence  of  six  of  Denny's  councillors,  six  mem- 
bers of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly,  two  New  Jersey  commission- 
ers for  Indian  affairs,  and  a  number  of  Quakers.  While  only  one 
Mohawk  with  one  woman  and  two  boys  attended,  and  perhaps 
one  Cayug-a,  there  were  men,  women,  and  children  of  the  other 
nations  composing  the  Six  Nations,  also  Nanticokes  and  Conoys, 
now  one  nation.  Tuteloes,  Chugnuts,  Chehohockes  alias  Delawares 
and  Unamis  including  Teedyuscung,  Muncys,  Mohicans,  and 
^^'apings  or  Pumptons,  with  the  interpreters.  Governor  Bernard 
of  New  Jersey  joined  in  the  council  on  the  nth,  and  demanded 
from  the  Muncys  the  captives  taken  from  his  province.  The 
Seneca  chief  then  gave  assurances  of  ])eace  on  behalf  of  the  Dela- 
wares and  Muncys  and  also  stated  that  messages  had  been  sent  to 
the  Delawares,  Muncys,  and  those  of  the  Six  Nations  on  the  Ohio 
to  advise  them  to  unite  in  peace.  The  Cayuga  chief  asked  pardon 
for  his  young  men.  Denny  granted  this,  and  asked  whv  the  cap- 
tives had  not  been  delivered  according  to  Teedyuscung's  promise. 
Rev.  Mr.  Post  and  Pisquitomen  and  Thomas  Hickman,  an  Ohio 
Indian,  returning  to  Harris's  Ferry  from  their  visit  to  the  Ohir>. 
Post  went  to  General  Forbes,  and  the  two  others  to  Faston.  Pis- 
r|uitomen  reported  at  this  treaty.  The  chief  men  had  sent  him 
l)ack  to  shake  hands  with  and  give  a  string  of  wampum  to  the 
Tiovernor,  Teedyuscung,  and  Israel  Pemberton  each.  Beaver 
King,  Shingass.  Delaware  George,  and  twelve  other  captains  and 

494 


The  Expulsion  of  the   French 

councillors  promised  by  Pisquitr)men  to  join  in  the  peace.  Then 
Nichas,  the  ^^lohawk  chief,  with  great  vehemence  spoke  in  his  own 
language,  pointing  to  Teedyuscung.  Weiser  asked  to  be  excused 
from  interpreting,  but  obtained  the  Indians'  consent  for  the  inter- 
pretation to  be  made  at  a  i)rivate  conference.  This  was  attended 
by  the  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  and  of  the  Conoys  and  Tuteloes. 
Then  Nichas  and  Tagashata,  the  Seneca,  and  Assarandonquas, 
the  Onondaga,  and  Thomas  King,  the  Oneida,  severally  wanted  to 
know  who  had  made  Teedyuscung  a  great  man.  They  had  never 
heard  of  his  having  any  authority  over  ten  nations,  as  he  was 
claiming;  they  disowned  it,  and  asked  if  the  English  had  given 
it  to  him.  Then  the  Cayuga  chief  and  Nichas  promised  to  satisfy 
the  English  as  to  the  return  of  captives,  adding:  "If  any  of  them 
are  gone  down  our  throats,  we  will  heave  them  up  again."  The 
next  day,  the  minutes  of  the  private  conference  were  read  to  Tee- 
dyuscung in  the  Delaware  language  at  a  meeting  of  all  the  In- 
dians, and  Denny  explained  that  Teedyuscung  had  claimed  to  rep- 
resent ten  nations,  but  as  a  messenger  for  the  Six  Nations  and  as 
a  chief  for  the  Delawares  only,  and  so  he,  Denny,  had  made  him 
an  agent  to  publish  what  w-as  done  at  the  council  fires,  but  had 
given  him  no  authority  over  the  Six  Nations,  and  never  would 
impose  any  chief  on  any  Indian  tribe.  Then  Governor  Bernard 
said  that  if  the  English  called  an  Indian  a  king,  they  meant  no 
more  than  sachem  or  chief :  and  he  recognized  that  Teedyuscung 
was  still  a  nephew  to  the  Six  Nations.  Then  Tagashata  told 
Teedyuscung  that  the  Six  Nations  had  promised  to  return  all 
captives,  and  so  must  the  Delawares  and  Muncys.  On  the  i8th, 
the  counsellors  of  the  Indians  having  finished,  the  warriors  by 
Thomas  King  addressed  some  remarks  to  all  the  English  on  the 
continent.  The  cause  of  the  war,  he  said,  was  that  when  some 
of  the  Shawanees  were  passing  through  South  Carolina  to  fight 
their  enemies,  as  they  had  done  every  year,  the  English  had  with 
friendly  manner  enticed  them  into  their  houses,  and  then  arrested 
and  imprisoned  them,  and  put  a  head  man  to  death  :  the  Shawa- 

495 


Pennsylvania   Colonial   and   Federal 

nees  had  complained  of  this  to  the  l^'rcnch  when  the  latter  came 
to  the  Ohio,  and  they  had  in'oed  them  to  revenge  themselves 
against  the  luig-lish  :  the  Shawanees  had  said  to  the  ])ela\vares, 
"f Grandfathers,  are  not  your  liearts  sore  at  our  being-  used  so  ill. 
and  at  the  loss  of  one' of  voiir  chiefs?  Will  you  not  join  us  in 
revenging-  his  death?'"  so  the  }-oung-  men  of  the  Delawares  had 
been  induced  to  act  against  the  English.  Now  as  to  the  Senecas, 
eight  of  theiu  returning  from  war  -with  seven  prisoners  and  scalps 
were  met  by  150  soldiers  at  Green  Briar,  Virginia,  who  under  pre- 
tense of  supplying  them  with  food,  took  them  to  a  store,  and  there 
disarmed  them ;  the  head  men  among  the  Indians  cried  out,  "Here 
is  death,  defend  yourselves  as  well  as  you  can,"  in  doing  which 
two  Indians  were  killed,  and  one,  a  boy,  was  taken  prisoner:  if 
this  boy  was  ali\e,  let  him  be  returned.  Then  again.  A\hen  the 
French  came,  the  Indians  wished  implements  of  war  to  defend 
their  lands,  but  the  Governors  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia 
would  not  assist  then.i,  although  the  Governor  of  Virginia  had 
taken  care  to  settle  on  the  Indian  lands  for  his  own  benefit,  and 
the  English  traders  retired,  so  the  Indians  were  obliged  to  trade 
with  the  French.  Addressing  himself  to  the  Governor  of  New 
Jersey.  Thomas  King  said  that  the  ]\Iunc\'s  belieA'cd  that  there 
were  tracts  here  and  there  in  the  Jerseys  which  had  never  been 
sold,  btit  they  could  not  tell  which  ;  and  protested  against  not  being 
allowed  to  lumt  deer  or  ])eel  a  single  tree,  that  never  having  been 
the  intention  when  the  land  was  released.  Addressing  himself  to 
the  Go^•ernor  of  Pennsylvania,  he  said  that  at  Albany  1,000  pieces 
of  eight  had  been  paid  for  the  part  of  the  land  purchased  w-hich 
was  settled  l)y  the  Pennsylvanians,  bitt  the  other  part  wdiich  was 
not  paid  for,  the  Indians  reclaim :  the  warriors  and  hunters,  wdien 
they  heard  that  so  much  land  had  been  sold,  disapproved,  and 
what  was  not  settled  was  hunting  ground.  Teedyuscung  then 
entered  a  complaint  from  the  ^^^a]:)ing,  or  Goshen,  Indians,  nine 
of  whose  people  had  been  killed  three  years  before.  Then  he 
asked  if  King  George  had  decided  the  question  as  to  tlie  land  which 

496 


The   Expulsion   of  the   French 


the  Dela\vares  ha<l  claimed.  While  lie  was  so  speaking-,  the  chiefs 
of  the  Six  Nations  one  hy  one  left  the  council,  ai)parentlv  in 
dudgeon.  The  next  day  at  a  private  conference  Governor  Ber- 
nard offered  to  ])a}-  a  reasonahle 
sum  to  satisfy  the  Muncys.  which 
was  afterwards  fixed  at  1,000 
Spanish  dollars.  Teedyuscuno" 
with  his  grandson  and  an  inter- 
preter went  to  Denny's  house,  and 
in  the  presence  of  Peters  and  Gov- 
ernor Bernard  and  Andrew  John- 
son said  that  the  Delawares  did 
not  claim  high  up  the  Delaware 
River.  At  the  ])ul)lic  conference 
on  the  20th  Teedyuscung  asked 
the  Six  Nations  to  clear  up  the 
matter  of  the  land  at  Wyoming 
and  vShamokin.  where  the\-  had 
placed  the  Delawares,  hut  wliicli 
was  now  reported  to  have  heen 
sold.  "I  sit  here  as  a  hird  on  a 
hough:  I  look  ahout  and  do  not 
know'  where  to  go :  let  me  there- 
fore come  down  u]ion  the  ground, 
and  make  that  my  own  Iw  a  good 
deed."  Denny  then  reported  that 
the  Proprietaries  were  willing  to 
release  all  of  the  land  purchased 
at  Alhany  which  the  Six  Nations 
reclaimed,  if  the  latter  would  con- 
firm the  residue  of  the  purchase. 
So  the  mutual  releases  were  executed.  Octoher  24.  Pis(|uitomen 
and  Thomas  Hickman  were  sent  hack  to  the  Ohio  to  l)ear  assur- 
ances (jf  ])ardon,  and  invitations  to  come  to  Philadeli)hia,  and  a 

1-3^  497 


i'ciiiisyI\aiiiii-Mar\  laiul 
Five  Mile  Slone 

One  of  the  oriKinal  Mason  and  Dixon 
Line  markers,  showing  the  Penn  .\rnis. 
EnRraved  for  tliis  work  from  a  negative 
Ijy  D.   K.   I'rinton 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

request  to  keej)  a\\ay  from  b'ort  Duquesne.  Cai)tain  ]u\m  liull 
and  William  Hayes  and  Isaac  Stille.  the  interpreter,  and  two  In- 
dians of  the  Six  Nations.  l\)jenotaw]y.  a  Cayuj^a.  and  the  young- 
est Shickcalamy,  accompanied  them.  Tliomas  King  promised  to 
lay  Teedyuscung's  re(|uest  for  a  contirmation  of  the  lands  of 
Wyoming  and  Shamokin  before  the  great  council  of  the  Six 
Nations. 

Washington  wrote  on  October  30  from  Loyal  Hanna  that  had 
it  not  been  for  the  accidental  discovery  of  a  new  passage  over  the 
Laurel  Hill,  the  carriages  must  have  stopped  on  the  eastern  side, 
and  he  supposed  the  expedition  would  terminate  for  that  }-ear  at 
Loyal  Hanna.  where  the  Ceneral  and  most  of  the  army  had  not  vet 
arrived.  In  the  loeginning  of  November,  the  whole  arm\-  reached 
Loyal  Hanna.  On  the  General's  arrival,  a  council  of  war  decided 
that  it  was  not  advisable  to  proceed :  but  soon  prisoners  reported 
the  smallness  of  the  garrison  at  F(^rt  Duquesne.  The  lal)ors  of 
the  Pennsylvania  messengers  to  the  Indians  had  done  the  deed. 
Washington  and  Armstrong  and  their  detachments  cut  a  road  to 
within  a  day's  march  of  the  fort.  On  November  i8th,  2,500 
picked  men  started  on  the  way,  teaching  the  hills  of  Turkey  Creek 
on  the  evening  of  the  24th.  The  next  day,  with  Forbes  in  a  litter, 
they  advanced.  Reaching  the  object  of  their  march  at  dusk, 
ready  for  battle  or  siege,  the}-  found  it  deserted,  the  barracks 
burnt,  the  fortifications  blow  n  up !  A  stockade  was  afterwards 
built  around  some  cabins  and  huts,  and  the  place  was  called  Pitts- 
burgh. On  the  site  of  Braddock's  defeat.  Major  Halket  found 
the  skeleton  of  his  father.  Sir  Peter.  It  was  buried  with  another, 
probably  the  son  who  was  also  killed  in  the  battle.  W^ant  of  pro- 
visions forbade  going  on  to  Venango ;  so,  leaving  such  gar- 
rison as  could  be  fed.  Forbes  conducted  his  army  back.  He  left 
early  in  December,  and.  delayed  by  poor  health  at  Loyal  Hanna. 
reached  l^hiladelphia  after  the  Assembly  had  voted  to  continue 
1.400  men  in  service,  and  a  day  of  thanksgiving  had  been  observed 
for  what  ])ro\-e(l  to  be  the  permanent  expulsion  of  the  French. 

498 


The  Expulsion  of  the  French 

Yet  Hugh  Mercer,  then  colcnel  of  the  Virginia  tr(X)ps,  and 
his  command  (^f  280  men  left  to  garrison  Pittshurgh  was  in  con- 
siderahle  danger.  Reassuring  tlie  neighboring  hidians.  whom 
Forbes  had  sumuKnied.  and  \\ilh  \\h()m  it  was  Mercer's  duty  to 
hold  conference,  he  was  receiving  words  of  devotion  and  giving 
his  provisions,  while  the  commander  at  Venango  was  offering 
l)elts  to  induce  llie  Six  Xatii)ns,  Delawares,  and  Shawanees  to 
strike  him,  and  o\er-Lake  Indians  were  forming  a  confederacy 
under  French  direction  to  destroy  the  Six  Nations,  and  storing 
arms,  etc.,  f<  >r  it  at  Kuskusky  (on  a  l)ranch  of  Bea\-er  Creek  in 
Butler  county),  h'orbes  was  too  ill  tc)  see  Indian  messengers 
who  in  the  winter  followed  him  to  Philadelphia,  but  Rev.  Mr. 
Peters  .saw  them,  and,  in  denial  of  the  French  statement  that  the 
T'^.nglish  ^vanted  to  take  the  red  man's  land,  Forbes  communicated 
\\  ith  them,  and  declared  that  tb.e  Fnglish  had  no  intention  of  set- 
tling west  of  the  Alleghanies.  He  also  assurefl  them  that  any 
Indians  joining  his  forces  would  be  well  supported.  But  the  In- 
dian messengers  were  scarcely  satisfied  with  this  indefinite  sug- 
gestion, and  more  than  discouraged  by  nolxidy  lia\  ing  ordered  for 
them  a  tub  of  punch  during  their  long  stay. 

The  British  government  before  hearing  of  the  taking  of  Fort 
Duquesne  made  by  Pitt's  letter  im  Dec.  9,  1758,  application  for 
the  raising  of  a  still  greater  force  for  service  by  the  ist  of  May 
following.  The  Assembly,  in  reply  to  Denny's  message  laying 
this  before  it,  called  his  attention  to  the  loss  of  horses  and  wagons 
taken  into  serxice  and  for  which  the  owners  were  unpaid,  the 
abuse  of  the  inhabitants  by  both  officers  and  soldiers  employed  to 
secure  such  means  of  transportation,  the  violence  of  officers  in 
forcing  troops  into  private  houses,  and  also  the  continuance  of 
\\'illiam  Moore  of  Chester  county  in  the  magistracy  notwith- 
standing the  Assembly's  attempt  to  imi)each  him  and  its  repre- 
sentation of  his  arbitrary,  unjust,  and  illegal  conduct:  tlio  hope 
was  exprcs.sed  that  the  dovernor  would  s])eedi]v  redress  these 
grievances  to  the  utmost  of  his  power,  and  then  the  .\ssemblv 

499 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

would  co-operate  with  the  etTorts  made  for  further  military  opera- 
tions. A  copy  of  tliis  answer,  which  made  the  redress  of  griev- 
ances a  condition  u])(»n  wln'cli  alone  the  ni(ine\-  would  he  grranted, 
Denny  forwarded  to  (jeneral  Jeffrey  Amherst,  who  had  succeeded 
General  Aliercromhie  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces  in 
X()rth  America.  Amherst  wrote  hack  that  it  was  an  unexpected 
answer,  particularly  as  part  of  the  grievances  were  owing  to 
Forl:)es's  illness.  As  the  latter  had  l)een  so  ])revented  from  re- 
dressing them,  he.  Amherst,  would  do  so  when  in  a  few  days  he 
would  come  to  Philadelphia ;  meanwhile  Sir  John  St.  Clair  should 
prepare  the  accounts.  As  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  not  showing 
due  regard  to  the  law  for  supplying  the  forces  with  horses  and 
carriages,  it  was  not  to  he  supposed  that  they  would  apply  for 
more  than  they  required,  and  if  they  could  not  get  them  otherwise, 
it  was  their  duty  to  impress  them.  Similarly,  if  there  were  not 
puhlic  houses  to  quarter  the  soldiers,  they  must  l^e  put  in  private 
houses;  how  would  it  he  possible  to  carry  on  the  service  if  the 
soldiers  must  perish  in  the  streets?  If,  however,  the  troops  were 
guilty  of  any  irregularities,  he  would  not  screen  them.  In  conclu- 
sion, he  could  not  furnish  regulars  to  garrison  Fort  Augusta;  and 
he  expected  the  Assembly  at  once  to  pay  and  clothe  the  Pennsyl- 
vania troops. 

On  March  1 1,  1759,  he  who  by  a  combination  of  circumstances 
not  perhaps  altogether  brought  about  by  his  ability  had  driven  the 
French  from  the  junction  of  the  Allegheny  and  Monongahela,  the 
most  important  militar}-  e\-ent  in  Pennsylvania  before  the  battle 
of  Gettysburg,  paid  with  his  life  the  penalty  of  overwork  and 
neglect  of  health,  but  the  price  for  his  place  in  history.  General 
Forbes  died  in  Philadelphia,  and  was  buried  in  Christ  Church, 
where  \-ery  recently  a  tablet  was  erected  to  his  memor}-.  A  report 
was  circulated  that  Coh^nel  \\'illiam  Byrd  of  Virginia  was  to  suc- 
ceed him  in  command  of  the  troops  of  Pennsylvania  and  other 
southern  provinces,  and  members  of  the  Assembly  went  to  Denny 
to  ask  him  to  join  in  a  remonstrance  to  General  Amherst.     They 

500 


The  Expulsion  oi  the   French 

said  that  it  would  be  useless  to  vote  supplies,  as  no  one  would  en- 
list, and  the  Indians  would  take  umbrage  at  seeing  a  Virginia 
colonel  in  command.  Denny  called  together  his  councillors,  but 
in  the  midst  of  their  deliberations  a  servant  came  in  to  say  that 
Brigadier  General  Stanwix  had  arrived  in  town  and  a  letter  was 
handed  to  Denny  from  Amherst  announcing  Stanwix's  appoint- 
ment. 


As  it  appeared  in  1868.  The  hou^e  was  built 
?.  and  at  the  time  the  original  sketch  of 
this  illustration  was  made,  it  was  the  oldest 
house  in  the  county.  For  a  time  it  was  occu- 
pied by  Heckewelder.  Moravian  missionary. 
Photographed  especially  for  this  work  from  a 
print  in  possession  of  the  Tioga  Point  Histor- 
ical Society 


.\s  it  appears  to-day.  Engraved  especially 
for  this  work  from  a  negative  by  Louise  K. 
Murray 


Heckewelder  House.  Bradford  County 

In  August.  1757,  the  same  month  that  the  deeds  were  being- 
shown  to' Teedyuscung,  Benjamin  Franklin  in  London  handed  to 
the  Proprietaries  three  heads  of  complaint,  viz. : 

First — That  the  reasonable  and  necessary  power  given  to  dep- 
uty governors  of  Penns\lvania  by  the  royal  charter,  sections  4  and 
5,  of  making  laws  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Assembly 
for  raising  money  for  the  safety  of  the  country  and  other  public 
uses  according  to  their  best  discretion  is  taken  away  by  Proprie- 
tary instructions  enforced  by  penal  bonds  and  restraining  the  dej)- 
uty  from  the  use  of  his  best  discretion  ;  though,  being  on  the  spot, 
he  can  better  judge  of  the  emergency,  state,  and  necessity  of  af- 

c;oi 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

fairs  than  Proprietaries  residing  at  a  great  distance,  by  means  of 
which  restraints  sundry  sums  of  money  granted  by  the  Assembly 
for  the  defence  of  the  province  have  been  rejected  by  the  deputy, 
to  the  great  injury  of  his  ]\'Iajesty's  service  in  time  of  war  and 
danger  of  the  loss  of  the  colony. 

Second — That  the  indubitable  right  of  the  Assembly  to  judge 
of  the  mode,  measure,  and  time  of  granting  supplies  is  infringed 
by  instructions  that  enjoin  the  deputy  to  refuse  his  assent  to  any 
bill  for  raising-  money  unless  certain  modes,  measures,  and  times 
in  such  instructions  directed  be  made  a  part  of  the  bill,  whereby 
the  Assembly  in  time  of  war  are  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  either 
losing  the  country  to  the  enemy  or  giving  up  the  liberties  of  the 
people  and  receiving  law  from  the  Proprietary;  and  if  they  should 
do  the  latter  in  the  present  case  it  would  not  prevent  the  former, 
the  restricting  instructions  being  such  that  if  complied  with  it  is 
impossible  to  raise  a  sum  sufficient  to  defend  the  country. 

Third- — That  the  Proprietaries  have  enjoined  their  deputy  by 
such  instructions  to  refuse  his  assent  to  any  law  for  raising  money 
by  a  tax,  thoug'h  ever  so  necessary  for  the  defence  of  the  country, 
unless  the  greatest  part  of  their  estate  is  exempted  from  such  tax. 
This  to  the  Assembly  and  people  of  Pennsylvania  seems  both  un- 
just and  cruel. 

In  conclusion  the  Proprietaries  were  asked  to  redress  these 
grievances.  Those  careful  gentlemen,  or  rather  Thomas  Penn, 
decided  to  consult  the  King's  .Vttorney-General  and  the  Solicitor- 
General,  and  so  notified  Franklin ;  and  one  of  the  agents  of  the 
province  was  blamed  for  the  delay  of  a  year  in  receiving  the 
<:!pinions.  based  upon  which  the  Proprietaries  then  answered  in 
the  first  place,  that  instead  of  leaving  matters  to  a  Lieutenant- 
Governor  ^^•hom  the  Assembly  would  pay  or  not  according  as  he 
surrendered  his  discretion,  the  Proprietaries  would  instruct  and  by 
penal  bonds  control  him,  instructions  being  given  to  and  bonds  re- 
quired from  every  one  intrusted  with  the  government  of  any  Brit- 
ish colony,  instructions  being  given  even  to  those  executing  the 

502 


The  Expulsion  of  the  French 

regal  goxernnicnt  in  the  King's  absence,  the  Proprietaries  being 
repeatedly  commanded  by  the  Crown  on  the  nomination  of  a 
Lieutenant-Ciovernor  to  give  instructions,  and  a  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor being  able  by  misbehavior  to  bring  the  estate  and  franchise 
into  danger.  The  Proprietaries  then  offered  to  have  their  income 
inquired  into,  and  if  the  5,000/.  already  given  was  less  than  the 
portion  their  estate  which  was  in  its  nature  taxable  should  pay, 
to  make  good  the  telance,  if  the  ,\ssembly  would  return  the  excess 
if  there  should  turn  out  to  be  any.  Then  they  offered  to  settle 
with  the  agents  the  terms  of  a  supply  bill,  but  Franklin  disclaimed 
the  power  so  to  bind  the  Assembly.  The  Proprietaries  sent  a 
message  to  the  Assembly,  dated  Nov.  28,  1758,  enclosing  a  copy 
of  their  answer,  and  oft'ering  as  to  any  matters  not  concerning 
property  a  conference  with  "any  persons  of  candor"  whom  the  As- 
sembly would  appoint.  Franklin  asked  them  whether  they  would 
consent  to  a  law  directing  the  inquiry  into  their  income,  what 
parts  of  their  estate  they  deem  to  be  in  its  nature  taxable,  whether 
the  5,000/.  already  contrilmted  were  to  be  compared  with  their 
share  of  past  taxation  or  to  include  their  share  of  taxes  for  the 
ensuing  and  future  years,  and  whether  by  the  expressions  al)out 
a  right  to  dispose  of  their  estates  and  properties  as  the  Assembly 
had  of  their  constituents",  it  was  meant  that  the  Assembly  should 
dispose  of  what  the  people  paid,  and  the  Proprietaries  of  what 
they  paid.  The  Proprietaries  and  Franklin  came  to  an  agreement 
that  the  Lieutenant-Governor  should  approve  of  such  a  law  as  was 
passed  the  preceding  year,  and  a  decision  should  be  obtained  from 
the  officials  of  the  Crown  as  to  what  estates  of  the  Proprietaries 
were  in  their  nature  liable  to  taxation,  which  decision  the  .Assem- 
bly desired  the  agents  to  obtain.  A  bill  was  presented  to  Denny 
on  IMarch  24  for  striking  off  100,000/.  and  sinking  the  same  by  a 
tax  on  real  and  personal  estates.  Denny  proposed  amendments 
to  make  it  plain  that  iSd.  per/,  were  to  be  levied  on  the  clear  yearlv 
rents  of  lands  leased  and  the  clear  annual  income  of  improved 
lands  cultivated  by  the  owners  and  the  interest  on  the  value  of  the 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

unimproved  lots  in  Philadelphia  or  in  towns  or  adjoining  im- 
proved lands,  and  another  amendment  exempting  the  Proprietary 
estates,  inasmuch  as  there  was  no  provisiou  for  taxing  them  ex- 
cept hv  the  regular  assessors,  whereas  the  I'roprietaries  insisted 
upon  commissioners  named  in  the  act.  Nevertheless  he  informed 
the  AssemlMy  that  the  Proprietaries  were  ready  to  pay  taxes  on 
their  quit  rents  and  appropriated  tracts  if  on  examination  the 
5,000/.  which  they  had  given  fell  short  of^  their  share  of  past  and 
future  taxation.  The  House  adhered  to  its  bill,  so  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  rejected  it,  and  on  April  5  a  new  bill  fc^r  the  purpose 
was  brought  to  him.  This  he  rejected  because  commissioners 
were  not  named  to  settle  the  taxes  on  the  Proprietary  estates. 
When  the  Assembly  had  announced  adherence  to  this  bill.  Denny 
acquainted  General  Amherst,  who  had  arrived  in  Philadelphia, 
with  the  state  of  the  case.  The  General  sent  for  Norris,  the 
Speaker,  and  some  of  the  members,  and  used  his  best  endeavors  to 
have  a  bill  passed  like  those  of  preceding  years,  but  in  vain.  Fi- 
nally he  sent  them  word  that  he  would  withdraw  the  King's 
forces  if  the  same  number  of  provincial  troops  as  in  the  past  year 
were  not  raised.  The  Assembly  merely  used  this  in  a  message 
to  Denny  as  an  argument  why  he  should  }'ield.  The  councillors 
urged  him  not  to,  and  pointed  out  that  the  bill  was  worse  than 
any  others :  it  subjected  the  Proprietary  estates  to  all  taxes  from 
Avhich  they  had  been  exempted  in  former  acts,  making  them  pay 
in  one  year  the  taxes  for  four  years,  and  might  result  in  the  sale 
of  the  estates  by  the  commissioners  and  assessors  who  were  chosen 
in  this  time  of  popular  fury  against  the  Proprietaries.  But  Gen- 
eral Amherst,  following  the  example  of  the  Earl  of  Loudoun, 
asked  Denny  to  waive  the  Proprietary  instructions,  promising  to 
explain  the  necessity  to  the  King's  ministers.  So  on  April  17  the 
supply  bill  was  passed  by  Denny  into  a  law,  and  the  raising  of 
troops  required  for  garrisoning  the  frontier  forts  or  joining  the 
operations  in  the  offensive  was  secured.  The  Assembly  tried  to 
have  two  laws  made,  one  designed  against  the  Proprietaries,  being 

504 


John  Pcnn 

Member  Provincial  Council.  1753;  commission- 
er to  the  Albany  Congress,  1754;  lieutcnant- 
covernor.  176.1-1771.  and  1771-1776:  arrested  by 
order  of  Continental  Congress,  1777.  and  re- 
leased 1778:  died  in  Ducks  county,   1795 


The  Expulsion  of   the    French 

for  the  recording"  of  warrants  and  surveys,  and  rendering  real 
estate  more  secure,  and  the  other  designed  particularly,  it  was  sup- 
posed, against  the  college  at  Philadelphia,  of  which  the  son-in-law 
of  \\'illiani  Moore  of  Chester  county.  Rev.  William  Smith,  D.  D., 
from  Scotland,  was  president,  or  provost,  this  law  being  for  the 
more  effectual  suppression  of  lotteries  and  plays.  This  college, 
the  parent  of  the  University  of  Pennsyhania,  was  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  friends  of  the  Proprietaries,  and  had  been  made  a  Latin 
school,  somewhat  in  opposition  to  the  plan  of  Dr.  Franklin,  who 
was,  after  all,  its  founder.  Of  late  the  chief  support  had  come 
from  lotteries.  That  means  of  raising  money  had  been  used  for 
various  purposes,  although  prohibited  by  a  former  law.  which 
imposed  a  fine  of  lOo/.,  half  going  to  the  Governor,  who  had  been 
in  the  habit  of  remitting  his  half  when  a  public  purpose  was  to  be 
subserved.  The  councillors  deeming  the  prohibition  of  plays  an 
unreasonable  restraint  upon  innocent  diversions,  fortified  their 
opinion  l)y  recalling  that  in  Queen  Anne's  time  a  law  of  Pennsyl- 
vania of  such  import  had  been  repealed  by  the  Queen.  The 
Lieutenant-Governor  accordingly  proposed  amendments  to  these 
projects :  but  having  once  broken  through  his  instructions,  under 
the  guarantee  of  General  Amherst,  afterwards  when  the  Assembly 
on  June  lo  sent  him  an  act  for  re-emitting  the  bills  of  credit  of 
the  province  theretofore  re-emitted  on  loan  and  for  striking  the 
further  sum  of  36,650/.  to  enable  the  trustees  to  send  50.000/.  to 
Colonel  John  Hunter,  agent  for  the  contractors,  as  a  loan,  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  disregarded  the  unanimous  advice  against 
more  paper  money  from  his  Cnnncil.  Strettell,  Peters,  Cadwalader, 
Turner,  and  Chew,  and  told  them  that  the  Proprietaries'  interest 
must  not  stand  in  competition  \\  ith  the  operations  of  the  cam- 
paign, and  asked  the  Assembly  to  add  25.000/.  to  the  loan  to 
Hunter,  and  allow  him  more  time,  and  to  insert  the  usual  allow- 
ance to  the  Proprietaries  for  the  exchange  on  their  quit  rents  due 
in  sterling  moncv.  The  only  amendment  the  Assembly  made  was 
to  alloAv  Hunter  more  time.      Stanwix  asked  him  to  pass  the  bill, 

507 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

Ijeini^-  anxious  to  liax'c  the  contract(jrs  paid.  Re\-.  Richard  Peters 
explained  to  Stanwix  the  injustice  it  would  work  to  the  Proprie- 
taries, and  Stanw  ix  expressed  great  concern  at  the  Assembly's  at- 
titude, some  of  the  members  having;-  told  him  plainly  that,  this 
probablv  l)eing"  the  last  campaign,  they  would  never  again  have 
such  an  opportunity  of  obtaining  what  they  thought  just  against 
the  Proprietaries,  and  preserving  the  powers  and  privileges  to 
which  they  were  entitled,  and  of  which  the  Proprietaries  wished 
to  deprive  them.  Stanwix  told  Peters  that  he  would  set  this  mat- 
ter in  its  true  light  before  the  King's  ministers,  that  these  acts  of 
injustice  might  not  l)e  confirmed.  On  June  i8,  Denny  told  his 
Council,  of  whom  there  were  then  present  the  aforesaid  five  and 
a.lso  Shoemaker  and  Lardner,  that  he  had  heard  much  from  them 
al)out  the  Proprietaries,  but  there  had  been  a  remarkable  silence 
as  to  the  King's  letters ;  he  considered  himself  laid  under  express 
command  to  fc^rward  the  general  ser\'ice;  and  loyalty  and  obe- 
dience was  due  to  the  King  as  well  as  a  regard  to  the  Proprietaries. 
The  councillors  were  shocked  by  a  charge  of  disloyalty,  repelled 
it.  and  said  that  they  had  heard  and  believed  that  Denny  would 
pass  the  bill  not  so  much  from  regard  for  the  King  as  for  other 
reasons.  Then  Chew  read  a  protest  which  had  been  drawn  up 
before  the  meeting,  upon  the  councillors  hearing  that  there  had 
been  an  agreement  betw^een  Denny  and  certain  members  of  the 
Assembly  to  secure  his  assent  to  the  bill.  The  protest  set  forth 
the  great  quantity  of  paper  money  aiioat,  the  \\ant  of  a  suspend- 
ing clause  until  the  King's  assent  be  obtained,  the  power  of  the 
Assembly  over  the  interest  from  the  loans,  etc.  In  the  afternoon 
Denny  sent  word  to  the  Assembly  that  he  withdrew  his  amend- 
ments, and  would  pass  the  bill.  Denny  also  passed  the  bill  for 
suppressing  lotteries  and  i)lays,  and  the  House  voted  to  him  i.ooo^ 
When  the  Assembly  had  made  some  aiuendments  to  the  bill  for 
recording  warrants  and  surveys,  although  his  councillors  urged 
him  to  wait  for  a  proper  l)ill  on  the  subject,  he  passed  it,  and  re- 
ceived a  second  grant  of   i,ooo/.     The  Assembly  also  by  vote 

508      ^ 


The  Expulsion  of  the   French 

promised  to  indemnify  Denny  from  any  loss  which  he  might  sus- 
tain from  the  prosecution  hy  the  Proprietaries  of  his  hond. 

While  (jcneral  Stanwix.  proceeding  to  Bedford,  was  having 
trouble  in  securing  the  necessary  horses  and  wagons  for  his  marcii 
to  the  westward,  the  retreat  of  the  French  from  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point,  their  surrender  of  Niagara  after  it  had  been  stormed 
by  the  British,  and  the  rout  of  1,200  French  from  Detroit,  \'en- 
ango.  and  Presf|ue  Isle  coming  to  the  relief  of  Niagara,  and  the 
adhesion  of  the  Indians  to  the  peace,  brought  about  the  evacuation 
and  destruction  of  the  French  forts  in  Pennsylvania:  X'enango. 
Le  Boeuf,  and  i^resque  Isle.  This  was  made  permanent  b}"  the 
capture  of  Quebec  and  the  building  of  a  more  substantial  fort  at 
Pittsburgh. 


5^^9 


CHAPTED  XVII. 
THE   MEN    OF  THE   FRONTIER 

FROM  Holme's  map  of  the  first  purchases,  Davis's  History 
of  Bucks  County,  and  Smith's  History  of  Delaware 
County,  if  not  from  what  we  have  said  in  the  preceding 
chapters,  the  reader  can  gather  that  down  to  the  death  of  William 
Penn  all  of  what  is  now  Bucks  beyond  Newtowai,  all  of  Mont- 
gomery b€}-ond  Norristown,  and  all  of  what  is  now  Chester  would 
have  been  called  the  frontier.  After  or  contemporary  with  the 
religious  communities  of  which  the  works  of  Sachse  have  given 
details,  and  which  made  settlements  .along  the  northern  side  of 
the  Schuylkill  and  at  Ephrata,  came  new  emigrants  from  Wales, 
mostly  Baptists,  to  the  northern  end  of  the  colony.  The  Quakers 
spread  little  except  from  the  increase  of  families.  The  Scotch- 
Irish  soon  after  Penn's  death  led  the  way  to  the  Susquehanna. 
James  Logan,  secretary,  receiver-general  and  surveyor-general 
previous  to  the  mortgage  of  1708,  was  one  of  the  attorneys  for 
the  mortgagees  and  the  most  active  trustee  for  the  sale  of  the 
Pennsylvania  lands  appointed  in  Penn's  will.  Sir  William 
Keith  made  some  effort  to  take  the  control  of  this  land  business 
out  of  Logan's  hands.  Keith's  interference,  althought  it  was  not 
legal,  advanced  the  outposts  of  the  cavalry  in  three  w^ays,  viz., 
the  in\'itati<)n  to  the  (lermans  to  settle  at  Tulpehocken,  of  which 
we  have  spoken;  the  procuring  of  a  survey,  by  virtue  of  an  old 
right  which  he  had  bought,  of  a  tract  on  the  western  bank  of  the 
Sus(|uehanna.  where  he  established  a  plantation  called  Newberry, 


Men  of  the  Frontier 

after  his  wife's  maiden  name;  and  the  establishment  of  a  manor  of 
70,000  acres  for  Springett  Penn  and  called  Springettsbury  adjoin- 
ing Newberry  on  the  south  (in  York  county).  Any  right  which 
Springett  I'enn  took  by  this  was  probably  as  trustee  for  the  Pro- 
prietaries, and  assigned  to  them  by  his  brother  William's  release. 
Many  years  afterwards  the  manor  was  resurveyed  with  different 
dimensions.  The  enornmus  immigration  (;f  Germans  induced  the 
Anglo-Saxon  majority  in  the  Assembly  in  1729  to  impose  a  pro- 
tective tariff,  not  on  goods,  but  on  persons,  of  so  much  a  head. 
Tn  1730,  it  is  said,  there  were  about  15.000  adherents  of  the  Ger- 
man Reformed  confession  in  l^ennsylvania.  Thomas  Penn  at- 
tempted to  make  sales,  once  by  a  lottery  scheme,  at  the  very  edge 
of  the  Indian  purchases  on  the  Delaware. 

As  the  Moravians  entered  the  Indian  country  with  gospel 
work  as  one  of  their  chief  purposes,  they  are  not  included  by  us 
with  the  belligerent  peoj^jle  at  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Mountains  when 
we  speak  of  frontiersmen,  althougli  they  were  the  nnrtliernmost 
settlers  at  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  Denny. 

The  German  Lutherans  had  beoim  to  congregate  before 
1743,  when  the  Rev.  Henry  Melchior  Miiblenberg  establishctl  tiic 
Augustus  church  at  Trappe  (Montgomery  county).  Xot  long 
afterwards  he  organized  a  Lutheran  synod.  Lie  married  a  daugh- 
ter of  Conrad  \\'^eiser.  We  have  seen  how  the  frontiers  receded 
during  the  French  and  Indian  war,  and  the  white  man's  country 
may  be  said  not  to  have  extended  beyond  the  ])rcsent  Franklin 
and  Cumberland  and  the  southern  half  of  the  present  Dauphin, 
Lebanon,  and  Berks  counties  at  the  time  at  which  the  last  chanter 
closes.  Beyond  were  a  few  forts.  Pitt  and  Augusta  being  the 
most  important.  The  land  for  miles  within  this  liordor  was  oc- 
cupied bv  detached  settlements  of  Germans  and  Scotch-Irish.  The 
change  of  the  aforesaid  Miihlenberg's  son  imm  preacher  to  gen- 
eral in  the  ])ulpit.  which  was  one  of  the  striking  incidents  of  the 
Revolution,  had  been  often  less  dramatically  paralleled  among 
the  descendants  of  the  Covenanters  in   this  earlier  war.     The 

c;ii 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

statues  of  John  Peter  Gabriel  Muhlenberg  and  Robert  Fulton,  al- 
though one  took  up  arms  in  \^irginia,  and  the  other  started  a 
steam  Iviat  in  Xew  York,  represent  the  two  dominanl  elements  of 
the  interior  po])ulation  of  the  State  which  ])resented  the  statues 


Forty  Fort 

Situated  near  Wilkes-lJarre.  loo  feet  from  the 
river;  erected  1770;  rebuilt  in  1777.  Engraved 
for  this  work  from  a  print  in  Wyoming  Histor- 
ical and  Geological   Societv 


to  the  Capitol  at  Washington.  These  elements  were  separated 
ecclesiastically  from  the  element  which  bore  swa}-  in  the  older 
settlement,  where  William  .\llen.  the  only  holder  of  important 
office,  was  a  I^'esbyterian.  Since  the  Swedes  element  had  be- 
come insignificant,  political  power  was  shared  between  the 
fjuakers  and  the  adherents  of  the  Church  of  England.     Then  also. 

;i2 


Men  of  the  Frontier 

while  Allen  was  the  richest  in]ial)itaiit  of  Pennsylvania,  the  (itlier 
rich  men  were  Quakers  or  Churchmen.  One  fact  alxmt  .social 
conditions  in  Colonial  Penns}i\ania  must  he  noted.  Among  the 
tirst  purchases  while  the  Founder  was  in  Eng^land  there  had  been 
some  tracts  of  5,000  acres,  and  1  )r.  Xicholas  Moore  and  the  Grow- 
dons  had  located  theirs  respectively  in  one  place;  and  the  Free 
Society  of  Traders,  of  which  Moore  was  ])resident,  had  larger 
tracts  in  several  places,  and  some  right  to  exercise  baronial  juris- 
diction, its  so-called  manor  in  Chester  county  becoming  many 
years  later  the  i)ro])erty  of  Xathaniel  Xewlin  :  but  the  aljrogation 
from  the  hrst  of  tlie  law  of  primogeniture,  the  application  of  a 
decedent's  land  to  the  payment  of  debts,  and  the  temptation  to 
sell  by  the  rapid  demand  for  smaller  quantities,  caused  these  tracts 
to  be  subdivided,  and  when  various  members  of  the  Penn  family 
aside  from  the  Proprietaries  themselves  received  large  quantities 
of  land  and  sold  them  to  single  purchasers,  the  latter,  buying  on 
speculation,  soon  sold  off  pieces.  Thus  the  real  estate  in  any  given 
locality  owned  b\-  a  resident  there,  aside  from  the  Proprietaries 
themselves,  amounted  at  the  most  to  large  farms  held  in  fee.  There 
were  no  great  estates  occupied  by  a  landed  gentry  remote  from  the 
chief  city,  as  in  \'irginia  and  Xew  York.  The  rich  men  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  those  who  deemed  themselves  its  aristocracy  were 
nearly  all  merchants  or  merchants'  sons.  Growdon  of  Bucks 
county  and  William  Logan  of  Philadelphia  county  were  the  only 
members  of  the  C(^uncil  not  residents  of  Philadelphia,  unless  we 
count  Hamilton,  who  lived  just  beyond  V^ine  street.  We  have 
seen  that  the  councillors  were  the  representatives  of  the  Proprie- 
taries. Originally  all  being  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  it 
was  a  long  time  the  policy  that  an  equal  number  should  be  taken 
from  that  Society  and  the  Church  of  England,  but  latterly  most 
of  the  ostensible  Friends  were  of  the  variety  who  believed  in  de- 
fensive war,  and  Logan,  Shoemaker,  and  to  some  extent  Grow- 
don were  the  only  ones  in  sympathy  with  the  mass  of  attendants 
at   Meeting.      In   the   Assembly,   liowexer,   after   the  excitement 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

of  the  war  Iiad  sul)si(led.  (juakcrs  l)eo"an  to  resume  control. 
iVniong-  tlieni  was  Shoemaker's  son-in-law,  I-'dward  I'enington, 
descended  from  a  halt  l)rother  of  WiUiam  I'enn's  first  wife;  so 
that  this  representative  of  the  ])eople  was  a  relative  of  the  elder 
line  of  Penns.  A  leading;-  s])irit  of  the  Assembly  after  Isaac 
Norris  the  Speaker,  and  in  the  absence  of  Beniamin  Franklin, 
who,  althong-h  continuously  re-elected  until  1764,  was  now  c'lgent 
in  London,  was  Grow^don's  son-in-law,  Joseph  Gallowav,  a  law- 
yer of  a  Quaker  family  in  Maryland. 

Among  the  other  measures  of  the  Assemblv  to  w  hich  the  ad- 
mirers of  Franklin  and  the  advocates  of  popular  rights  against 
the  Proprietaries'  interest  induced  Denn}-  to  consent,  were  three : 
one  respecting  the  courts  of  judicature,  one  for  the  relief  of  the 
heirs,  devisees,  and  assigns  of  persons  born  out  of  the  King's 
allegiance  who  had  been  owners  of  lands  within  the  Province,  and 
died  unnaturalized,  and  the  third  for  appointing  an  agent  to  re- 
ceive Pennsylvania's  share  of  £200,000  granted  by  Parliament  to 
the  colonies  in  return  for  part  of  the  war  expenses.  The  first  of 
these  acts  transferred  the  btisiness  of  the  Orphans'  Court  to  the 
county  courts,  but  this  was  not  what  affected  the  Proprietaries. 
The  act  changed  the  tenure  of  judges  from  during  the  good  pleas- 
ure of  the  Governors,  in  w'hom  the  appointment  was  vested,  to 
during  good  behavior,  as  in  England,  the  reason  for  the  act,  of 
course,  being  to  secure  the  independence  of  the  judiciary,  an  ar- 
gument against  it  before  the  Privy  Council  being  that  by  the  in- 
creased wealth  of  the  Province  from  time  to  time  [setter  salaries 
could  be  afTorded  and  better  talent  secured.  The  act  for  the  re- 
lief of  the  heirs,  etc.,  of  unnaturalized  persons  took  away  the  Pro 
prietaries'  right  to  the  decedent's  land  by  escheat.  It  was  said 
that  this  right  had  not  been  rigorously  exercised,  but  that  it  had 
been  the  practice  to  make  a  new  grant  to  those  who  would  have 
taken  had  the  decedent  been  naturalized.  These  two  acts  being 
to  advance  the  equality  of  men  before  the  law.  the  third  act  was 
not  relished  because  the  money  was  to  go  from  the  British  treas- 


Men  of  the   Frontier 

iiry  to  the  liank  (jf  England  thnnigh  the  hands  of  the  great  i)hil<»s- 
opher  of  equahty.  Benjamin  Frankhn. 

Even  before  Denny  at  Amherst's  re(|nest  broke  through  the 
instructions  from  the  Proprietaries,  they  Ijegan  looking  out  ff)r  a 
new  Lieutenant-Governor,  but  kept  this  a  secret  from  Franklin, 
so  that  Denny  should  not  know  of  it  until  his  successor  siiould  be 
ready  to  embark.  Before  Franklin's  letter  of  June  lo.  1758.  Mr. 
Graves  of  the  Temple  had  the  refusal  of  the  office,  with  the  Penn's 
town-house  and  CDuntry-liouse  rent  free,  and  their  guarantee  of 
£900  sterling  per  annum.  They  told  him  that  he  could  live  easily 
on  £500,  keeping  a  coach,  etc..  and  referred  him  to  Hamilton,  who 
said  that  he  could:  but  l\ol)ert  Hunter  Morris  said  that  he  could 
not.  Therefore  inquiries  were  made  of  Franklin,  through  a 
friend,  and  Graves  declined.  Evidently  Denny  had  learned  that 
his  official  days  were  numbered,  before  he  made  his  peace  with  the 
Assembly.  But  his  office  was  a  long  time  going  begging.  James 
Hamilton  being  in  England,  the  reappointment  of  him  was 
thought  of.  The  matter  being  delayed,  he  wrote  a  short  note 
dated  London.  April  4.  to  the  effect,  that,  as  every  one  knew  he 
had  not  solicited  it.  he  was  not  disposed  t(^  recede  from  the  terms 
on  which  he  had  agreed  to  take  it.  viz. :  that  he  be  not  restrained 
from  assenting  to  any  reasonable  bill  for  taxing  the  Proprietary 
estates  in  common  with  all  the  other  estates  in  the  province ;  for 
in  his  opinion  it  was  no  more  than  just.  Finally  the  commission 
was  issued  to  Hamilton,  bearing  date  July  19.  1759.  He  took 
the  oath  before  King  George  H  and  the  Privy  Council  at  W'hite- 
liall  August  10.  1759;  and  on  November  17  arrived  in  Philadel- 
phia. The  Penns  instructed  him.  first,  as  was  natural  from  large 
property  holders,  to  make  a  final  effort  by  the  most  prudent  means 
to  prevent  the  Assembly  from  including  any  i)art  of  the  Proprie- 
tary estate  in  any  tax  raised  by  it;  but.  secondly,  if  a  tax  on  this 
estate  at  all  were  necessary,  to  levy  it  on  the  quit-rents,  the  tenants 
paying  the  tax.  and  deducting  it  from  the  rent ;  and  to  make 
proper  arrangements  for  justly  assessing  other  people's  estates: 

si  ; 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

and  on  no  account  to  authorize  the  sale  of  Proprietary  lands  lor 
taxes.  The  following-  year,  a  bill  was  presented  for  raising  loo,- 
oool.  The  Assembly  could  not  be  induced  to  allow  the  appoint- 
ment of  commissioners  to  whom  the  Proprietaries  might  appeal  in 
a  case  of  over-assessriient,  although  Hamilton  repeated  the  old 
argument  that  the  county  assessors,  to  whom  alone  the  Assembly 
would  commit  the  subject,  did  not  represent  the  Proprietaries, 
who  had  no  voice  in  their  appointment,  but  only  the  inhabitants 
who  elected  them.  Hamilton  added  that  nothing  was  further 
from  his  thoughts  than  to  desire  an  exemption  of  the  Proprietary 
estates :  ''All  I  contend  for  is  that  they  may  be  put  upon  an  equal 
foot  wdth  others."  The  Assembly  adhered  to  the  l)ill.  and  Ham- 
ilton, finding  the  money  was  necessary,  gave  his  assent  under 
protest. 

A  law'  was  made  prohibiting  any  person  or  persons  singly  or 
in  companies  from  hunting,  chasing,  or  following  au}^  deer,  wild 
beast,  wild  fowl,  or  game,  or  setting  traps  for  beaver  or  other 
beasts  outside  of  the  limits  of  the  lands  purchased  by  the  Pro- 
prietaries from  the  Indians :  and  assurances  w-ere  sent  to  a  great 
council  of  western  Indians  that  no  settlements  should  be  made 
west  of  the  Alleghanies. 

When  the  various  acts  assented  to  by  Denny  came  before  the 
King  in  Council,  the  Proprietaries  petitioned  against  eleven  of 
them,  and  hired  the  Attorney-General  and  Solicitor-General  of 
England  to  argue  the  matter  before  the  Commissioners  for  Trade 
and  Plantations.  The  agents  of  the  Assembly,  Franklin  and  Rob- 
ert Charles,  son-in-law  of  Lieutenant-Governor  Patrick  Gordon, 
secured  Messrs.  De  Grey  and  Jackson  as  counsel,  these  raising 
two  points :  first,  that  the  King's  right  to  repeal  laws  passed  by 
the  Governor  and  Assembly  was  limited  to  such  as  the  King 
deemed  inconsistent  with  his  sovereignty  or  prerogative  or  the 
faith  and  allegiance  due  by  the  Proprietaries  or  people;  and,  sec- 
ond, that  the  Proprietaries  were  excluded  by  the  consent  given  by 
their  Lieutenant-Governor  to  the  laws  from  complaining  to  the 

516 


Men  of  the  Frontier 


King-  and  obtaining-  relief  by  the  exercise  of  anv  discretion  which 
he  might  liave.  The  five  placemen  serving  as  Commissioners  re- 
ported in  favor  of  the  wider  view  of  the  King's  prerogative: 
their  argument  was  that  as  the  charter  of  Charles  II  said  that 
the  laws  were  to  l)e  consonant  to  reasf)n  and  as  far  as  convenient 
agreeable  to  the  laws  of  England,  it  must  be  i)resumed  that  the 
Crown,  which  had  reserved  the  lesser  right  of   iudgment  upon 


Stewart's   Block    House 

Situated  in  the  Wyoming  \'alley.  near  the  Sus- 
quehanna river:  built  by  Captain  Lazarus  Stew- 
art in  1 77 1.  Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  the 
Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society 

aj)])eal.  had  reserved  the  greater  rigin  of  legislation,  which,  more- 
over, was  independent  of  any  charter.  \'er\-  properly,  it  seems 
to  us,  they  did  not  allow  the  1  Proprietaries  to  l)e  estopped  from 
complaining  of  the  act  of  their  deputy:  the  Crown,  it  was  argued. 
had  the  riglil  to  any  information  from  Prr.prietaries  and  people, 
and  the  circumstances  under  which  the  dei)uty  had  assented  made 
it  particularly  hard  to  allow  him  to  shut  them  off  ivom  relief. 
On  the  subject  of  taxing  the  Troprictary  estates  other  than  rents, 
which  the  I'roprictaries  agreed  sliould  be  taxed,  the  Commission- 
ers re[)orte(l  that  neither  the  unlocated  waste  land  nor  the  located 

S^7 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

unimproved  land  ^^•as  a  jM-oper  suliject  for  taxation,  and  tlie 
method  of  levyin«^  it  by  this  act.  lea\-in|n-  tlic  assessment  aljsolutelv 
in  the  liands  of  assessors  in  whose  appointment  tlie  I'rdprietaries 
had  no  \'oice,  was  unfair,  and  the  i)ro\ision  for  sale  in  case  of  non- 
payment, was  unwarrantable,  such  a  thing-  l)eing-  unlieard  of  in 
England.  The  encroachment  ui)on  the  executive  power  1)v  tlie 
Assembl}-  in  insisting  upon  the  nomination  of  tlie  officers  pro- 
vided for  by  the  act  was  very  exceptionable,  and  tlie  making  of 
paper  money  a  legal  tender  for  (|uit  rents  due  in  sterling  was  un- 
just. The  Commissioners  urged  the  King  to  maintain  the  i)re- 
rogatixe  even  when  held  by  subjects  like  the  Proprietaries,  and 
even  when  they  had  been  remiss  in  protecting  it,  and  particularly 
in  Pennsylvania,  where  there  was  no  upper  house  in  the  legis- 
lature. The  Commissioners  reported  in  favor  of  the  repeal  of  the 
aforesaid  supply  bill,  of  the  act  for  re-emitting  bills  of  credit  and 
loaning  to  John  Hunter,  of  the  act  supplemental  to  the  same,  of 
the  act  for  recording  warrants  and  surveys,  of  the  act  against 
lotteries  and  plays,  of  the  courts  of  judicature  act,  and  of  the  act 
for  relief  of  heirs,  etc.,  of  unnaturalized  decedents.  The  act  for 
appcjinting  the  agent  to  receixe  the  money,  however,  they  recom- 
mended for  approval ;  so  Franklin  scored  a  perscmal  triumph. 
\\'hile  this  report  was  before  the  Committee  of  the  Privy  Council 
for  Plantation  .Xtifairs,  the  Projirietaries,  by  a  compromise  ar- 
ranged by  Lord  Manstield,  promised  for  the  sake  of  peace  to  in- 
struct their  Lieutenant-Governor  to  assent  to  a  bill  for  paying  off 
the  100,000/.  authorized  b\-  the  supply  bill  in  the  form  of  said  bill 
amended  as  the  Lords  declared  to  be  necessary;  that  is  to  say  that, 
first,  the  real  estate  to  be  taxed  be  defined  so  as  not  to  include  the 
Proprietaries'  imsurveyed  waste  lands;  secondly,  their  located  but 
uncultivated  lands  be  assessed  not  higher  than  the  lowest  rate  at 
which  any  located  uncultixated  lands  of  the  inhabitants  should  be 
assessed:  thirdly,  all  lands  of  the  Proprietaries  within  boroughs 
and  towns  be  deemed  located  uncultivated  lands  and  ncjt  rated  as 
lots;    fourthly,    the  acting   Governor's   consent  be  necessary   to 

518' 


Men  of  the  Frontier 

every  issue  and  apj^lication  of  the  hills  of  credit  raised  hv  the  act ; 
fifthly.  Provincial  commissioners  he  named  to  hear  and  determine 
appeals;  and  sixthl}-.  the  payment  of  rents  to  the  r'roj)rietaries  he 
made  accordino;  to  the  terms  of  the  "grants.  The  agents  of  the 
])rovince  then  engaged  that  if  the  ])resent  act  were  not  repealed 
the  Assemhl}"  ^voul(l  ])ass  a  hill  to  amend  it  according  to  these  six 
re(|uirements.  Upon  this  agreement,  the  King  allowed  the  act 
to  stand.  Wdien  pressed  to  carry  out  the  agreement,  the  Assem- 
hly  made  an  examination  of  the  assessors'  hooks,  and  told  the 
Governor  that  the  unsurveyed  waste  land  had  not  heen,  and  was 
never  intended  to  he,  assessed;  that  the  located  tmcultivated  lands 
had  not  heen  assessed  higher  than  the  inhahitants'  lands  under 
like  circumstances;  that  only  in  a  few  instances  had  the  lots  in 
horoughs  and  towns  heen  assessed,  and  these  as  low  as  the  lots 
sold ;  that  it  was  never  the  intention  to  contravene  the  stipulations 
for  quit  rents,  and  that  as  the  law  would  soon  expire  hy  limitation 
they  hoped  the  Governor  would  lay  the  state  of  the  matter  hefore 
his  superiors,  and  that  the  act  passed  in  1760  would  recei\'e  the 
Royal  approhation.  Cieneral  Amherst  asked  for  the  raising  of 
300  soldiers  hv  the  I'rovince;  the  Asseml)ly.  after  |)ointing  out 
that  it  had  granted  upwards  of  300.000/.  since  the  commencement 
of  the  war,  and  that  coni])]iance  with  the  proposed  alterations  and 
amendments  in  regard  to  taxing  the  Proprietary  estates,  "must 
he  esteemed  a  high  hreach  of  trust  hy  the  peojjle,"  then,  on  April 
18,  1 761,  passed  a  hill  for  granting  30,000/.  in  the  usual  mode 
of  hills  of  credit  to  he  redeemed  hy  taxation,  and  coupled  this 
with  provision  for  superintendence  hy  the  Assembly  of  tiie  ex- 
penditure, and  also  making  the  bills  of  credit  a  legal  tender  for 
(|uit  rents.  Hamilton  begged  that  the  money  sufficient  iov  rais- 
ing the  trooi)S  be  appropriated  from  what  was  already  in  the 
hands  of  the  agents  in  Kngland.  so  as  to  avoid  controversy. 

At  this  time,  with  England  and  France  .still  at  war.  mid  most 
of  the  Indian  tribes  friendly  to  France,  although  the  luiglish 
were  in  undisturbed  pos.session  of  Canada,  and  the  Six  Nations 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

were  in  alliance  with  the  EngHsli,  the  peace  lately  made  with  the 
Delawares  and  other  Pennsylvania  Indians,  who  were  very  will- 
ing to  assert  their  independence  of  the  Six  Nations,  was  jeopar- 
dized by  the  coming  of  settlers  from  Connecticut.  The  Susque- 
hanna company,  of  which  Joseph  Skinner,  Jabez  Fitch.  Fliphalet 
I^yer,  John  Smith,  Ezekiel  Pierce,  Lemuel  Smith,  and  Robert 
Dixon  were  the  committee,  had  obtained  a  deed  from  certain  of 
the  Six  Nations  for  a  large  tract  sixty  or  seventy  miles  in  breadth 
north  and  south  extending-  from  about  ten  miles  east  of  the  Sus- 
cjuehanna.  in  depth  crossing  the  river  westward  two  degrees. 
The  design  was  to  make  a  new  colony  there,  and  accordingly  ap- 
])lication  was  made  soon  after  this  purchase  to  the  Assembly  of 
Connecticut  for  its  acquiescence  in  their  obtaining  a  charter  for  it 
from  the  King.  The  Assembly  passed  a  resolution  that  it  would 
make  no  opposing  claim  to  the  soil.  The  appeal  to  the  King  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  prosecuted  until  another  company  had 
made  some  progress  in  a  settlement  of  the  region  east  of  what 
the  Susquehanna  company  claimed. 

In  pursuance  of  a  grant  from  the  government  of  Connecticut 
of  a  tract  extending  thirty  miles  on  the  west  side  of  the  Delaware 
and  westward  to  the  mountains,  embracing  a  large  part  of  what 
is  now  Wayne  county,  Pennsyh-ania,  with  power  to  extinguish 
the  Indian  title,  a  large  number  of  proprietors,  or  adventurers, 
had  secured  two  deeds  from  certain  of  the  Delaware  tribe,  said  to 
have  been  residents  of  New  Jersey.  The  tract  included  land 
which  had  borne  the  name  of  Cushietunk.  Here  a  committee 
laid  out  three  townships,  each  being  ten  miles  along  the  river  and 
eight  miles  in  depth  westward,  and  settlers  came,  built  about 
thirty  cabins,  and  started  three  log  houses,  a  saw  mill,  and  a  grist 
mill,  as  the  Pennsylvania  sheriff  and  magistrates  of  Northampton 
county,  sent  by  Hamilton  to  investigate,  found  in  the  fall  of  1760. 
These  officials  remonstrated  with  the  twenty  men  who  with  women 
and  children  were  on  the  spot,  but  received  answer  that  they  would 
liold  the  region  until  the  highest  authority  decided  against  their 

520 


Men  of  the   Frontier 

title.  Teedyiiscnno-.  wlio  liad  been  received  into  the  Moravian 
Church,  and  had  been  instrumental  in  causin^i(  the  return  bv  va- 
rious Indians  of  some  captives,  entered  a  formal  complaint,  and 
warned  Hamilton  that  if  any  white  people  should  .settle  c>n  the 
west  side  of  the  Susquehanna  at  Wyoming:,  the  Indians  would 
dri\e  them  off.     Teedyuscuno-  was  ansfry  when  he  received  a  let- 


John  Wilkes 

Member  of  Parliament,  after  whom  Wilkes 
liarre  was  named;  born  1727;  died  1797.  Pho- 
tographed  especially  for  this  work  from  a  copv 
in    Wyominji    Historical   and   Geological    Society 

ter  from  Sir  William  Johnson  asking  when  the  Delawares  would 
meet  him  for  an  examination  of  the  complaint  as  to  land  against 
the  Proprietaries.  Teedyuscung.  perhaps  because  he  knew  that 
Johnson  was  so  close  to  the  Six  Nations  that  he  would  see  things 
with  their  eyes,  and  not  recognize  any  ownership  bv  the  Dela- 
wares, said  that  he  wduld  ha\c  nothing  to  do  with  him.  but  de- 
sired the  matter  to  be  heard  by  Hamilton.  The  latter,  seeing 
the  Indian  so  earnest,  said  that  he  would  consider  the  request, 

521 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

but  told  Teedyuscnnii-  tliat  all  the  Delawares  on  the  Ohio  as  well 
as  the  Susquehanna  should  he  informed,  and  should  attend  the 
treaty.  Teedyuscun^^-  replied  that  Shingass  and  others  on  the 
Ohio  had  talked  with  him  on  the  subject,  and  w<wld  be  at  Phila- 
del])hia  in  the  spring.  Hamilton  wrote  to  Johnson  stating  his 
suspicion  that  the  l*ro])rietaries'  enemies  had  suggested  this  ac- 
tion by  the  Indian  claimant,  .so  that  they  could  manage  the  whole 
])rocee(ling  by  its  taking  place  in  l'hiladel])hia  :  "but."  Hamilton 
added,  "it  nexertheless  these  otiicious  jjeople  would  not  interfere, 
and  you  shall  judge  from  the  present  circumstances  of  affairs, 
and  the  minds  of  the  Six  Nation  Indians,  who  may  be  consulted 
as  being  concerned  to  support  their  own  rights  and  proceedings, 
that  my  hearing  it  will  contribute  to  the  general  good.  I  will  not 
decline  it ;  but  then,  should  you  advise  me  to  undertake  this,  I  beg 
leave  to  use  the  precaution  of  assuring  you  that  if  I  find  any  undue 
influence  or  any  ])artial  interferings  from  the  people  of  this  citv, 
1  will  desist,  and  leave  it  to  be  heard  by  you."  Hamilton  desired 
Johnson  to  obtain  (General  Amherst's  interposition  in  the  matter 
oi  the  Connecticut  claimants,  as  the  intrusion  into  the  Indian 
countr\-  might  readily  result  in  alienating  th.e  red  men  from  the 
English.  The  old  Susquehanna  company  claiming  l)y  deeds  from 
Mohawks  and  the  Delaware  company  claiming  by  the  aforesaid 
deeds  from  Deknxares,  undertook  to  imite.  Johnson  sent  to  Cush- 
ietunk  a  message  that  if  the  white  peo])le  were  there  to  trade,  let 
them  treat  the  Indians  well.  l)ut  a  settlement  must  not  l)e  made. 
Those  who  received  this  message  answered  that  they  would  listen 
only  to  the  G(^vernor  of  Connecticut,  and  they  told  some  Indians 
that  in  the  si)ring  the}-  would  come  4.000  strong  to  \^'yoming. 

l)e])uties  from  the  Onondagas.  Cayugas.  Oneidas.  [Mohicans, 
Xanticokes.  1  )elawares.  I'utelos.  and  Conoys.  a  company  of  five 
hundred  men.  women,  and  children,  arrixed  at  Easton  in  July, 
1761,  met  Lieutenant-Ciovernor  Hamilton  and  Peters  and  Chew 
and  Joseph  Eox.and  rei)orted  the  adhesi<Mi  of  seven  nations  across 
the  lakes  to  the  English  alliance.      Teedyuscung  said  that  he  had 

522 


Men  of  the  Frontier 

been  advised  by  tbe  Six  Nations  to  leave  Wyoming^  on  account 
of  the  white  people  coming  over  the  mountain,  and  as  the  Six 
Nations  had  not  given  him  a  deed  for  it.  he  believed  that  he  would. 
Joseph  Peepy  complained  that  Sir  William  bihnson  had  prom- 
ised to  make  war  on  the  French,  and  after  c<MU|uering  them  to 
establish  a  trade  whereby  these  Indians  could  get  articles  chea]) 
and  a  good  \aluo  for  their  furs,  but  now  the  furs  brought  nothing. 
\erv  little  ammunition  was  given  hi  them.  an<l  furts  were  sur- 
rdunding  them  m>  that  they  were  penned  in  like  h<»gs  and  threat- 
ened with  death:  neither  Johnson  nor  the  (Governor  of  X'irginia 
had  dealt  fairly  with  them;  they  would  s])eak  only  to  the  ( lov- 
ernor  of  Pennsvlvania.  Tokahaio  declared  that  the  Six  Nations 
had  not  sold  the  land,  and  desired  no  Fnglish  beyond  the  line  of 
the  last  treaty  of  j^urchase  b\-  the  Penns.  and  asked  the  Governor 
to  assist  in  having  the  strangers  removed.  As  the  goods  the  In- 
dians bought  from  .Sir  William  Johnson  were  very  dear,  they 
would  like  a  trading  house  at  Tioga  especially  to  supply  powder 
and  lead,  but  not  strong  liquor,  the  prices  to  be  reasonable,  so  as 
to  make  Johnson  sell  cheaper.  Hamilton  in  reply  tried  to  dis- 
abuse the  Indians'  minds  as  to  Johnson,  and  told  them  that  Tioga 
was  too  far  off  for  a  trading  post,  whereas  there  was  one  at  Pitts- 
burg and  another  at  Shamokin.  It  being  said  that  two  Tusca- 
roras,  one  Oneida,  and  one  ^lohawk  had  privately  made  the  deed 
for  the  Wyoming  land,  Hamilton  suggested  the  summoning  (^f 
them  before  the  great  council  of  the  Six  Nations  and  the  cancel- 
lation of  the  deed.  Teedyuscung  told  the  Six  Nations  that  when 
he  went  to  \\'voming.  he  sup])osed  that  they  would  give  him  the 
land  there  in  ])lace  of  his  land  sold  to  the  ICnglish,  and  he  told 
I  lamilton  that  he  now  desired  him  to  pay  for  the  land  as  to  which 
the  comphiint  had  been  made  to  the  King:  there  were  .some  pres- 
ent who  had  ne\er  received  any  comjiensatiiMi,  but  the  Muncys 
and  some  at  Alleghanv  would  agree  with  the  LieiUenant-(  lovernor 
when  they  came.  Hamilton  asked  what  lands  he  meant,  and  he 
replied  that  the  lands  were  ^\here  they  were  now  standing,  be- 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

tween  the  mountains  and  Tnhiccon.  hut  the  traet  ahuut  Durham 
four  miles  square  had  hcen  ])ai(l  for.  Tokaliaio  expressed  a  de- 
sire to  have  the  Delawares  satisfied.  Hamilton  then  referred  to 
the  decision  of  tlie  Six  Nations  in  1742  ordering  Teedyuscung  to 
Wyoming,  and  annotmced  readiness  to  lay  the  deeds  hefore  Sir 
W^illiam  Johnson  when  Teedyuscung  should  appoint  time  and 
place.  Afterwards  at  Philadelphia  Isaac  Stille.  the  interpreter, 
reported  that  Teedyuscung  had  said  that  he  did  not  himself  know 
anything  ahotit  the  Proprietaries  having  cheated  the  Indians :  the 
French  had  ])ut  it  into  the  heads  of  the  foolish  young  men,  who 
had  ohliged  him  to  mention  it  to  Governor  Morris  at  Easton. 
Joseph  Peepy  told  Hamilton  that  he  was  sorry  that  Thomas  Penn 
had  heen  "scandalized,"  and  added:  'T  am  sensible  that  neither 
my  relations  nor  I  ever  received  satisfaction  for  the  little  i)iece 
that  I  claim  as  my  share  of  those  lands.  ]\Iy  aunt,  who  is  an  old 
woman  and  knows  all  about  the  matter,  is  now  alive  and  would 
be  glad  if  the  Governor  wottld  take  pity  on  her,  and  make  her 
some  satisfaction  for  her  piece  of  land." 

Teedyuscung,  for  some  reason  which  many  will  say  was  simph' 
the  treachery  of  the  Indian  character,  afterwards  wrote  to  Sir 
William  Johnson  that  he  expected  to  see  the  latter  in  Philadelphia 
in  the  early  summer  and  depended  solely  upon  him,  whom  only  he 
could  trust,  to  hear  the  complaint  about  the  lands  at  the  forks  of 
the  Delaware.  The  Moravian  missionary  Zeisberger  appears  to 
have  acted  as  amanuensis  and  messenger,  and  also  to  have  shown 
the  letter  to  Hamilton,  who  in  April,  on  the  occasion  of  a  visit 
from  Teedyuscung.  asked  him  for  an  explanation.  Teedyus- 
cung seemed  contrite,  although  reminding  Hamilton  of  his  re- 
fusal to  hear  the  matter,  and  asked  him  to  tell  Johnson  not  to 
come,  although  previously  invited  by  Beaver  and  Shingass. 
Hamilton  declined  to  do  so,  offered  a  gratuity  to  the  Indians  if 
Teedyuscung  would  say  publicly  what  he  had  told  Isaac  Stille 
about  his  own  ignorance  of  the  whole  matter  and  his  young  men 
being    stirred    u])    by    the    b^'ench.     Teedyuscung    said    that    he 

524 


Men  of  the  Frontier 

would,  and  that  £400  would  content  the  Indians  for  the  lands 
in  question.  Hamilton  warned  him  tliat  he  would  not  feel 
obliged  to  give  a  farthing  if  Sir  William  Johnscjn  found  that  the 
Proprietaries  had  not  cheated  the  Delawares. 

Sir   William  Johnson   came  to  Easton.   examined   the  papers 
and  writings  i)r(»ducc(l  bv  the  Proprietaries'  commissioners,  and 


Isaac  Bane 

After  whom  \\  ilkes-Barre  was  named;  born 
1726;  died  180.:.  Photographed  especially  for 
this  work  from  an  engraving  in  possession 
XX'yominp  Historical   and  Geological   Society 

convinced  Teedyuscung  of  his  error,  the  latter  desiring  that  the 
matter  be  buried  under  ground,  and  offering  to  have  the  Indians 
execute  a  release;  all  of  which  we  learn  from  Hamilton's  speech 
at  the  treaty  of  Lancaster  following,  for  there  are  no  minutes  of 
the  Council  between  June  12  and  August  6. 

In  August  at  Lancaster  the  Lieutenant-Governor  with  coun- 
cillors and  commissioners  appointed  by  the  Assembly,  and  Israel 
Pemberton    and    other  private  citizens,   met   Beaver  and  other 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and    Federal 

chiefs  and  warriors  <  if  the  Ohio  Delawares,  'i\iscaroras.  Shawanees, 
Kickapos,  W'iwachtanies.  an<l  Twightees.  who  came  to  cnnfinn 
the  tricndshi])  established  \\ilh  them  by  Sir  W'ilham  Johnson  in 
the  fah  ;  and  there  ^^athered  also  at  the  conference  a  great  number 
of  men.  women,  and  children  from  the  Six  Nations  and  also 
Xanticokes,  Conors,  and  Saponies  and  Teedyiiscung-  and  one 
hundred  and  seventy-fi\e  of  his  Delawares.  Various  captives 
were  delivered.  Some  tribes  declared  that  the}'  had  none  at 
home.  The  Shawanee  messengers  promised  that  the  prisoners 
held  b}-  that  tribe  should  be  brought  to  Pittsburg.  Hamilton 
asked  IJeaver  if  he  was  satisfied  with  the  decision  about  the 
lands.  t)eaver,  "after  consulting-  with  his  counsellors,  replied 
that  he  knew  nothing-  of  the  Delawares"  claim,  neither  he  nor  his 
l)eople  had  an}-,  but  he  supposed  that  there  might  be  some  sjjots 
unpaid  for:  he  was  i)leased  if  Hamilton  and  Teedyuscung  were. 
Then  Teedyuscung-  called  the  Allegheu}-  Indians  to  witness  that 
he  was  willing  to  sign  a  release.  Hamilton  told  him  that  he 
had  acted  on  the  occasion  like  an  honest  man,  and  that  the  Pro- 
prietaries three  years  before  had  directed  that  upon  justice  being- 
done  to  their  character  a  present  should  be  made  as  a  mark  of 
their  affection  for  their  old  friends,  the  Delawares.  Thomas 
King,  the  Oneida,  who  brought  back  fourteen  prisoners,  had 
heard  that  there  was  a  promise  by  Governors  Denny  and  Bernard 
to  let  the  returned  captives  ha\e  their  choice  whether  to  stay  with 
the  whites  or  go  where  they  pleased,  and  said  that  the  Indians 
parted  witli  the  captixes  with  reluctance. and  some  were  loath  to  be 
brought  l)ack  to  the  countr}-  of  their  people,  because  those  whom 
he  had  Ijeen  bringing,  except  the  fourteen,  were  taken  out  of  his 
hands  when  he  reached  the  forks,  and  were  made  servants  of,  it 
was  lielieved.  He  had  brought  a  girl  to  Easton  whom  he  had 
taken  as  his  wife,  and  she  ran  back  to  his  home,  and  it  was  hard 
to  ]-)art  with  her.  He  asked  that  the  whites  covet  no  more  land, 
and  do  not  settle  be}'on(l  Xixhisacjua.  or  Mahanoy :  also  that  the 
soldiers  be  removed   from  the  fort  at  Shamokin.  but  the  store 

526 


Men  of  the   Frontier 

remain  and  be  kept  by  honest  men.  lie  wanted  four  stores,  one 
at  Slianiokin.  one  to  be  kept  b}-  John  Harris  at  his  house,  one  to 
l)e  kept  by  ( ieorge  Croghan  with  a  Ijlacksmith  and  gunsmith  at 
Uedford,  and  one  to  be  kept  by  Daniel  Cresa])  on  the  Potomac, 
these  points  1)eing"  in  the  path  1)\"  which  the  Six  Nations  wjuld 
go  to  war  with  the  Cherokees.  J  lamilton  explained  that  the  mat- 
ter of  Croghan's  store  was  \\itliin  the  jurisdiction  of  Sir  William 
Johnson,  and  induced  the  Six  Xations  to  gi\e  up  the  populated 
wd\  by  Harris's  and  Cresap's  as  a  war  path  and  to  use  the  old 
one  at  the  foot  of  the  .Mleghanies.  Considerable  presents  closed 
the  conferences. 

Pursuant  to  votes  of  the  Susquehanna  Company  to  allow  one 
I'.undred  members  to  settle  in  a  township  on  the  east  bank  of  t!ie 
Susquehanna  and  one  hundred  more  opposite,  a  large  number  of 
Connecticut  people  had  advanced  to  the  neighborhood  of  Wyo- 
ming when  a  body  of  the  Six  Xations  passed  that  way  returning 
from  the  treaty.  The  latter  spoke  very  roughly,  and  forbade  any 
settlement  b\-  virtue  of  the  purchase  alleged  by  the  others,  and 
obliged  them  to  lea\"e.  When  Teedyuscung  went  home  after 
the  treaty,  he  found  one  hundred  and  fift}'  X^ew  Englanders  on 
their  wa}-  to  build  houses  at  Lechawanock.  about  >e\en  miles 
from  \\'yoming.  On  his  threat  to  take  them  to  the  Lieutenant- 
Covernor  of  Pennsylvania,  they  said  they  would  go  back  anrl 
consult  their  own  Goxernor.  and  if  the  Indians  who  had  sold  tlie 
lands  would  return  the  mone\-  thev  could  have  the  lands  back. 
Other  parties  following  also  retired;  but  the  Comixmy  sent  out 
others  the  next  spring.  The  King  of  England,  howe\er.  or- 
<lered  that  neither  the  Compan\-  nor  the  Penns  make  any  entr)-  on 
the  lands  until  the  whole  matter  be  examined. 

On  A])ril  lO.  i'/(>^,  Teedyuscung.  going  to  bed  drunk,  per- 
ished in  the  destruction  oi  his  house,  believed  to  have  been  set  on 
hrc  by  Indian  enemies. 

When  as  a  result  of  the  surrender  of  C  anada  and  the  Ohio 
countrx',  the  Indians  of  those  regions  fovmd  in  their  mid>t  liritish 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

soldiers  and  Scotch-Irish  Iiuntsnien.  against  whom  tlie  French 
had  long  inculcated  a  hatred,  antl  who  on  close  acquaintance 
probahly  exhihited  no  ingratiating"  qualities,  and  while  America 
was  awaiting  the  official  proclamation  of  peace  between  France. 
Spain,  and  Great  Britain,  the  treaty  having  been  signed  at  Paris 
on  February  lo,  1763,  there  broke  out  the  cons])iracy  which 
bears  the  name  of  Pontiac's.  of  nearly  the  whole  Algonquin  race, 
to  overwhelm  ever}-  English  garrison  within  reach,  and  lay 
waste  the  frontier  settlements,  and  drive  the  colonies  of  the  rising 
power  back  at  least  to  tidewater,  if  not  into  the  sea.  The  Six 
Nations,  except  the  Senecas,  remained  well  affected  towards  the 
English. 

The  forts  within  the  present  limits  of  Pennsylvania  were  at 
this  time  garrisoned  mainly  by  detachments  of  the  Royal  Amer- 
ican regiment.  Around  Forts  Pitt,  Venango,  Le  Boeuf,  and 
Prescjue  Isle  arson  and  murder  began  and  multiplied.  Far  and 
wdde  terror  spread  through  that  region  and  across  the  Alleghanies 
as  here  and  there  roving  bands  took  the  lives  or  destroyed  the 
homes  of  the  pioneers  in  the  new  possessions ;  but  at  Fort  Bedford, 
W'hen  several  persons  in  the  vicinity  had  been  killed,  the  back- 
woodsmen organized,  and  several  formed  a  mounted  company 
disguised  as  Indians,  and,  when  some  savages  appeared  uttering 
a  war  whoop,  put  them  to  rout.  Steps  were  now  taken  to  rein- 
force the  garrison  at  Fort  Augusta  with  one  hundred  recruits; 
and  the  British  General,  who  had  been  actually  considering  the 
expedient  of  introducing  small-pox  among  the  Indians  by  means 
of  infected  blankets,  decided  to  dispatch  expeditions  composed  of 
regular  troops  to  the  enemy's  country.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Bou- 
quet, in  command  of  the  first  l)attalion  of  the  Royal  American 
regiment,  with  his  headquarters  at  Philadelphia,  received  two 
companies  of  the  42d.  or  Highlanders,  and  77th  regiments,  and 
started  for  Fort  Pitt,  ^^d^en  he  reached  Carlisle  at  the  end  of 
June,  he  found  the  town  crowded  with  refugees  w'ho  had  nar- 
rowlv  escaped  the  tomahawk,  and  he  soon  heard  of  the  loss  of  the 

528 


:)N}'    U'A  VNE 

Etched  for  tliis  work  by  Albert  Rosenthal  from  the  painting  by  Charles  \\  illson  Peak- 
Owned  by  Mrs.  J.  M.  Wirgman.  Paoli,  Pennsylvania 


Men  of  the  Frontier 


posts  at  Presque  Isle.  Le  Boeuf.  and  X'enango;  while  scouting 
parties  found  houses  and  stacked  wheat  hurning  in  the  various 
valleys  near  hy.  Securing  wagons  and  provisions,  hut  no  volun- 
teers, Bouquet  after  a  delay  of  eighteen  days  set  out  with  ahout 
five  hundred  men.  ahout  sixty  of  whom  were  in  wagons,  heing 
too  feehle  to  march.     Thirty  picked  Higlilanders  were  sent  across 


V 

IS 

J 

i 

■P 

Interior  of  Fori  Brown,  Dauphin  Coinil}',  as  ii  appears  lo-day 

Kngraved  especially  for  this  work  from  photo- 
ijraph  in  possession  of  Historical  Society  of 
Dauphin  County,  Pennsylvania 

tlie  niouiilains  as  fast  as  possihle.'traxclling  onl}-  h)-  night  to  h'ort 
Bedford  and  thence  to  Fort  Figonier.  which  they  fi^und  hesieged. 
hut  entered  as  a  welcome  reinforcement  amid  a  volley  from  the 
Indians.  The  main  h(Kly  moxcd  up  tlic  I'umherlaiid  X'alley  hy 
wa}'  of  Shi])pensl)urg  to  I'"nrt  Foudoun  on  Co\e  Mountain,  and 
thence  to  h'ort  Fittleton.  and  reached  Fort  lied  ford  on  the  25th 
of  July.  Here  thirty  hackwo<idsmen  were  added  to  the  small 
army,  and  the  invalids  were  left  as  a  garrison.  The  march  was 
continued  across  the  .Mlcghanics  to  Fort  Figoiiicr.  now  no  longer 

1-34  529 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

iiu'csted  by  the  ciieiiiy,  while  tliroui^ii  the  last  four  davs  of  Julv 
four  huu(h"C(I  I  )ela\\are  luchans  were  assauUiny"  ]-^)rt  TMlt,  wound- 
ing the  commander  and  nine  others.  i,ea\ino-  the  oxen  and  wag- 
ons at  Fort  Ligonier  on  August  4th,  l')OU(|uet  and  liis  followers 
were  within  half  a  mile  of  Bushy  Run  at  (^ne  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon of  the  5th.  when  they  were  suddenly  attacked.  At  first 
charging  forward,  then  ol)liged  to  fall  l)ack  and  form  a  circle 
around  their  ])ack  horses,  with  the  tlour  bags  a  shelter  for  the 
wounded,  for  seven  hours  they  were  furiously  assailed,  losing 
about  sixty  men  and  officers.  That  night,  forced  to  remain  where 
they  were,  they  found  themselves  without  water.  At  daybreak, 
tormented  by  thirst,  they  were  ag'ain  furiously  assailed.  Until 
ten  o'clock  they  were  being  decimated  by  enemies  upon  whom 
they  were  making-  no  impression,  when  by  the  feigned  retreat  of 
two  companies  and  the  thinning  of  the  line  which  closed  after 
them  the  Indians  were  led  to  attempt  to  l)reak  it,  and  so  exposed 
their  flanks.  The  Light  Infantry  and  Grenadiers  wheeled  around 
upon  them,  killing  a  great  number,  including  Keelyuscung.  a  Del- 
aware chief,  and  finally  putting  the  others  to  flight.  W^ith  a  loss 
of  eight  officers  and  one  hundred  and  fifteen  men  and  the  escape 
of  most  of  the  horses,  the  British  moved  dow"n  in  the  afternoon 
and  made  their  camp  at  the  Run.  Here  they  were  again  attacked, 
but  more  easily  repulsed  the  enemy.  The  next  day  the  victors 
resumed  their  journey  to  Fort  Pitt,  which  they  reached  on  the  ■ 
loth.  and  which  was  thus  effectually  garrisoned  and  provisioned. 
The  loss  of  Prescjue  Isle  rendered  impossible  Boucjuet's  further 
advance  to  Lake  Erie,  as  had  been  part  of  General  Amherst's  plan 
of  campaign.  Later  in  the  summer  the  frontier  inhabitants  of 
Pennsylvania,  under  the  protection  of  700  Pro^■incial  recruits, 
and  with  their  assistance,  gathered  their  harvests. 

Against  some  remarks  of  General  Amherst  as  to  "the  infatu- 
ation of  the  people"  of  Pennsylvania,  "who,"  he  said,  "tamely 
look  on  while  their  brethren  are  butchered  by  the  savages,"  the 
Assembly  having  previously  authorized  the  raising  of  800  troops, 


Men  of  the  Frontier 

and  voted  24,000/.  U)  keep  the  same  niiniher  until  Deceniljer  i. 
declared  that  it  was  both  unjust  and  impracticable  for  the  Prov- 
ince to  defend  a  frontier  of  nearly  three  hundred  miles,  which 
covered  to  a  great  extent  that  of  New  Jersey  and  Maryland,  with- 
out assistance  from  other  provinces.  In  September  and  October 
outrages  were  committed  as  far  east  as  the  neighljorhoods  of 
Reading  and  Bethlehem,  and  it  was  believed  that  not  only  Fort 
Pitt  but  even  Fort  Augusta  were  destined  for  attack.  Colonel 
John  Armstrong  led  three  hundred  men  of  Cumberland  county 
from  the  Juniata  river  against  Great  Island  r>n  the  W^est  Branch 
of  the  Susquehanna,  where  certain  of  the  marauders  had  their 
headquarters.  On  arrival  thev  found  the  place  ex'acuated,  horses, 
cattle,  and  other  spoil  gathered  in  the  fora_\s  being  left  behind. 
\\'ith  the  main  liody  of  his  men,  Armstrong  i)roceeded  to  another 
village  thirty  miles  away,  and  there  found  that  the  late  occupants 
had  left  in  haste  while  eating  a  meal.  So  the  expedition  resulted 
in  destroying  the  houses  and  cornfields  at  these  bases  of  supplies. 
Major  Asher  Clayton  led  a  party  from  Harris's  Ferry  to  remove 
the  Connecticut  settlers  from  Wyoming,  and  destroy  their  pro- 
visions, which  were  likely  to  be  seized  by  the  red  men.  When 
the  party  arrived  at  Wyoming,  it  found  that  the  savages  had  Ijeen 
there  before  them,  and  had  l)urnt  the  town,  and  killed  more  than 
twenty  persons  with  horrible  torture. 

A  number  of  those  Indians  who  had  been  converted  by  the 
Moravian  missionaries  around  Bethlehem  were  murdered  as  they 
were  found  asleep  in  a  barn  by  a  party  of  Rangers,  and  the  sur- 
prise and  slaughter  in  turn  of  the  latter  increased  the  suspicion 
of  the  frontiersmen  not  Moravians  or  Quakers  against  the  entire 
body  of  Christian  red  men.  who  professed  a  desire  to  li\e  at  jieace 
and  friendship  with  the  J^^nglish.  The  Provincial  Coiumission- 
ers,  indeed,  reported  their  belief  that  those  at  Xain  and  Wiche- 
lunk  (in  what  is  now  Polk  township.  Monme  county)  were  se- 
cretly sup])lied  by  the  Moravian  brethren  with  arms  and  ammu- 
nition, which,  in  free  intercourse  with  the  hostile  savages,  were 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and  Federal 

traded  off  ti)  the  latter.  About  the  loth  of  Oetol)er  a  nunil)er  of 
armed  men  marelied  towards  W'ielietunls,  Init.  waitinf^"  to  surprise 
it  by  night,  were  frustrated  by  a  Aiolent  storm,  which  wet  theii 
powder,  just  1:)efore  night  fall.  The  missionary.  Rev.  Bernliard 
Adam  (irul^e,  then  led  the  red  men  to  Nazareth.  The  Governor 
of  Pennsylvania  suggesting"  that  to  watch  their  behavior  it  would 
be  better  to  disarm  them  and  bring  them  to  the  interior  parts  of 
the  i)rovince.  the  Assembly,  actuated  more  by  a  desire  to  save 
them,  agreed  to  the  proposal. 

On  October  29.  1763.  John  Penn.  who  had  formerly  spent 
some  time  in  Pennsylvania,  and  had  sat  in  the  Governor's  Coun- 
cil, arrived  in  the  Delaware  with  a  commission  as  Lieutenant- 
Governor.  Hamilton  resumed  a  seat  in  the  Council.  John  Penn 
received  the  refugees  from  Nain  and  Wichetunk,  their  arrival  in 
the  Northern  Liberties  of  Philadelphia  exciting  the  lower  classes 
nearly  to  a  riot,  and  the  soldiers  in  the  barracks  there  refusing 
to  allow  the  use  of  any  part  of  the  barracks  as  the  sheltering  place, 
so  that  a  different  arrangement  had  to  be  made.  For  iive  hours 
these  Lidians  were  in  great  peril,  but  escorted  by  Quakers,  they 
were  finally  taken  to  Province  Island. 

A  ro3^al  proclamation  of  October  to.  1763.  publisherl  in  Phil- 
adelphia on  December  8,  prohibited  until  further  order  the  colo- 
nial governors  except  of  Quebec  and  Florida  from  granting  war- 
rants of  survey  or  patents  for  any  lands  beyond  the  heads  or 
sources  of  the  rivers  which  fall  into  the  Atlantic,  or  any  lands  not 
purchased  from  or  ceded  by  the  Indians,  and  ordered  all  persons 
who  had  settled  on  any  such  land  to  remove  therefrom  forthwith. 
It  furthermore  prohibited  any  private  purchase  of  land  from  the 
Indians,  and  provided  that  all  wdio  wished  to  trade  with  them 
should  take  out  a  license  and  give  security. 

General  Gage,  succeeding  Amherst  as  commander-in-chief  of 
the  forces  in  America,  renewed  on  December  12  Amherst's  requi- 
sition of  November  5  for  1,000  men  besides  officers  to  be  raised 
by  Pennsylvania  before  March  i. 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

The  conduct  of  tlic  last  Assembly  and  of  the  present  one,  in 
w  hich  there  ^vere  t\vent}-two  Quaker  members,  had  failed  to  sat- 
isfy not  only  the  royal  and  Proprietary  officers,  l)ut  also  the  Pres- 
byterians, ever  ready  to  take  up  arms,  and  particularly  the  Scotch- 
Irish  on  the  frontier,  who  saw  large  sums  of  money  lavished  in 
presents  to  Indians,  while  they  themselves  lay  destitute  from  the 
ravages  of  an  Indian  war.  And  as  every  now  and  then  some  of 
their  kinsmen  or  neighbors  fell  by  the  tomahawk,  they  became 
exasperated,  coupling  their  vengeance  against  the  guilty  savages 
with  jealousy  of  the  Assembly's  partiality,  and  also  suspicion 
against  those  Indians  who  were  treated  as  friends.  A  cry  like 
the  old  Covenanters'  came  from  their  descendants  in  Pennsyl- 
vania :  loud  exhortations  were  heard  on  the  frontier  to  carry  out 
against  the  heathen  red  men  the  decrees  of  Heaven  against  the 
Canaanites.  The  more  desperate  of  the  young  men  about  Paxton 
banded  together,  and  on  December  14  destroyed  the  peaceable  In- 
dian villag-e  at  Conestoga,  and  killed  and  scalped  all  whom  they 
found  at  home  except  one  small  boy.  The  remainder  of  the  little 
tribe,  fourteen  in  number,  were  conducted  by  Robert  Beatty  and 
John  Miller,  the  Proprietaries'  Indian  agents  at  the  manor,  who 
did  so  at  the  risk  of  their  lives,  to  Lancaster,  and  placed  in  the  jail 
or  work-house  for  safet}'.  The  Governor  issued  a  proclamation 
calling  for  diligence  by  the  authorities  to  bring  the  perpetrators 
of  the  crime  to  punishment,  and  warning  all  persons  not  to  molest 
the  Bethlehem  and  Nazareth  Indians  now  on  Province  Island  or 
elsewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia :  but  a 
few  days  later  about  one  hundred  horsemen  appeared  at  Lancas- 
ter, broke  into  the  work-house,  and  against  the  expostulations  of 
the  sheriff  and  coroner,  massacred  the  Conestogas ;  then,  rapidly 
leaving  the  town,  threatened  to  go  in  greater  force  to  Province 
Island.  The  Governor  issued  a  second  proclamation,  offering  a 
reward  of  200/.  for  the  apprehension  and  conviction  of  any  three 
of  the  ringleaders,  and  promising  the  influence  of  the  government 
for  the  pardon  of  any  accomplices  not  immediately  concerned  in 

534 


Men  of  the  Frontier 

the  sliedding  of  Ijlood  who  would  make  disccjvery.  apprehend,  and 
prosecute  to  convictiou  any  of  the  ringleaders.  The  Assembly 
having  been  summoned  during  a  recess  to  meet  the  new  Governor 
to  give  answer  to  General  Gage's  request  fr»r  i.ooo  men,  a  resolu- 
tion to  grant  such  a  force  was  followed  by  a  vote  of  credit  for 
the  additional  force  necessary  "to  frustrate  the  further  wicked 
designs  of  those  lawless  rioters.''  Sir  William  Johnson  having 
been  informed  of  both  massacres,  so  that  he  might  acquaint  the 
Six  Nations  witli  the  actual  facts,  and  remove  any  bad  impres- 
sions as  to  the  good  faith  of  Pennsylvania  in  dealing  with  friendly 
Indians,  it  l:)eing  very  important  that  the  Six  Nations  should  not 
be  alienated  from  P.ritish  interests.  (jo\ernf)r  I'cnn  scize<l  the  np- 
portnnity  afforded  by  the  presence  in  the  city  of  a  detachment  of 
Higlilanders  marching  to  New  York  to  accede  to  the  wish  of  the 
Indians  on  Province  Island  to  be  returned  to  their  families,  and 
])acked  them  off,  to  make  a  journey  through  New  Jersey  and  New 
York  to  Johnson's  on  the  Alohawk,  whence  they  could  easily  be 
sent  to  their  kindred  at  the  headwaters  of  the  Susquehanna.  The 
mob  of  the  city  was  to  be  feared  at  the  coming  of  an  organized 
force  of  rebels ;  the  Presbyterians  even  of  substance  would  have 
hailed  the  overthrow^  of  both  Proprietary  and  Quaker;  in  the 
minds  of  the  Governor's  councillors  the  Provincial  troops  could 
not  be  depended  upon  to  act  against  their  neighbors.  Accord- 
ingly regular  soldiers  were  a  necessity;  and  application  for  them 
was  made  to  General  Gage,  who  promised  three  companies  of  the 
Royal  American  regiment  then  on  their  way  from  Albany,  and 
also  put  the  troops  at  Carlisle  under  the  Governor  of  Pennsyl- 
vania's orders.  Franklin  came  forward  \\  ith  a  pamphlet  describ- 
ing the  proceedings  of  the  rioters,  so  as  to  turn  public  opinion 
against  them,  and  subsequently  at  the  Governor's  request  formed 
an  association  of  citizens  for  the  defence  of  ])ul)lic  authoritv. 
When  the  (Governor  of  New  York  heard  that  140  or  150  Indians 
were  to  \^  sent  through  his  territory,  he  had  them  stopped  at 
Perth  j\ml)oy,  and  a  part  of  the  Royal  American  regiment  brought 

S3S 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

thcni  back  to  Philadelphia,  where  they  were  lodged  in  the  bar- 
racks in  the  Northern  Liberties.  This  roused  the  Scotch-Irish, 
who  gathered  in  numbers  desig-ued  to  overwhelm  the  force  which 
mig"ht  protect  the  unfortunates.  A  Quaker  merchant  said  to 
Robert  Fulton  of  Lancaster,  "I  hear  you  intend  to  kill  the  Qua- 
kers." Fulton  answered,  "No,  God  forbid,  l)ut  they  or  any  others 
who  oppose  us  will  be  killed."  On  Januar}'  29  the  (ioxernor  sent 
an  express  to  Carlisle  ordering  all  the  King's  tr(K)ps  there  to  Lan- 
caster, and  on  February  3  the  .Assembl}^  passed  an  act  for  pre- 
venting tumults  and  riotous  assemblies.  Next  day  came  news 
that  the  frontiersmen  were  on  the  march,  and  had  iixed  on  the 
following  morning"  for  the  destruction  of  the  Lidians.  At  once 
measures  were  taken.  The  British  officer  at  the  1)arracks  was 
told  to  defend  his  charges  to  the  utmost.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
city  were  notified  to  meet  the  Go\"ernor  at  the  State  House  that 
afternoon,  to  take  arms  immediately  in  support  of  the  laws.  One 
hundred  and  fifty  gentlemen  were  to  assist  the  soldiers  in  guard- 
ing the  barracks  that  night,  and  the  inhabitants  were  upon  the 
ringing  of  bells  to  repair  to  the  barracks,  or.  if  the  town  were  at- 
tacked, to  meet  at  the  Court  House.  The  next  day  cannon  were 
planted  around  the  barracks,  but  the  insurgent  horde  did  not  ar- 
rive. It  sent  to  the  Governor  a  declaration  too  long  to  be  here 
printed  that  the  "injured  frontier  inhabitants"  had  seen  the  In- 
dians, some  of  whom  had  been  proved  to  be  murderers,  and  who 
by  knowledge  of  the  state  of  the  frontier  were  capable  of  doing 
much  mischief,  cherished  and  caressed  as  dear  friends ;  at  the  last 
Indian  treaty  at  Lancaster  the  blood  of  murdered  brethren  had 
l)een  tamely  covered,  and  cai)ture(l  friends  had  been  abandoned 
to  slavery ;  last  summer  not  a  man  had  been  granted  to  escort 
provisions,  etc.,  to  relieve  Fort  Pitt,  although  the  frontier  had 
depended  under  God  upon  the  success  of  the  cam])aign  ;  the  public 
was  required  to  support  savages  pretending  friendship  but  guilty 
of  murder,  with  others  known  to  have  been  in  battle  against 
Colonel  P)OU(|uet,  while  the  King's  subjects  flying  from  their  homes 


Men  of  the   Frontier 

were  left  t<>  ])ri\ate  charity,  "wherein  they  who  are  most  profuse 
towards  savages  lia\e  carefully  axoided  ha\ini^  an\'  part:"  no 
thanks  had  been  given  by  the  legislature  to  the  xolunteers.  who. 
ef|ui])ped  at  their  o\\n  cx]:)ense.  had  gone  up  the  Susquehanna  in 


John  Morgan 

I'liysician;  born  1735;  died  1789:  studied  med- 
icine in  FLurope  and  in  1765  became  professor 
of  medicine  in  CollcRC  of  Philadelphia.  Photo- 
graphed especially  for  this  work  from  an  en- 
jiraving  in  possession  of  Mrs.  William  Darling- 
ton 

September,  and  defeated  the  enemy,  and  no  notice  was  taken  of 
their  wounded,  but  a  doctor  had  been  sent  to  cure  an  Indian,  a 
confessed  enemy,  when  he  got  a  cut  in  his  head  in  a  (|uarrel  with 
his  cousin;  when  his  Majesty's  "cloaked  enemies  had  been  struck 
l\v  a  distressed,  bereft,  injured  frontier"  a  reward  had  l)een  of- 
fered for  apprehending  the  perpetrators,  and  their  conduct  painted 

537 


Pcnnsvlvania   Colonial   and   Federal 

in  the  most  atmcions  colors,  while  the  "liorrid  ravajc^es.  cruel  mur- 
ders, and  shocking'  barharities"  committed  h\-  Indians  had  been 
excused  as  their  method  of  making  war;  nor  could  there  be  sur- 
prise at  the  conduct  of  the  Indians  when,  as  those  of  \\'yalusing' 
had  told  ("onrad  W'eiser.  Israel  l'eml)erton,  the  old  leader  of  the 
faction  whicli  had  so  long  enslaved  Pennsyh'ania  to  the  Indians, 
with  others  of  the  Friends,  had  told  them  that  the  Proprietaries 
had  cheated  tliem  in  the  matter  of  land  and  the  traders  had  de- 
frauded them  in  the  price  of  goods — this  was  the  unhappy  situa- 
tion "under  the  villainy,  infatuation,  and  iuHuence  of  a  certain 
faction  that  have  got  the  political  reins  in  their  hands;''  and  could 
it  be  thought  strange  that  the  adding  of  the  Ijurden  of  supporting 
in  the  very  heart  of  the  province  one  or  two  hundred  Indians,  to 
the  great  dis([uietude  of  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants,  had 
awakened  the  resentment  of  "a.  people  grossly  abused,  unright- 
eously burdened,  and  made  dupes  and  slaves  to  Indians"  ?  and  the 
design  was  to  rescue  a  laboring  land  from  a  weight  so  oppressive, 
unreasonable,  and  unjust.  The  declaration  ends  :  "It  is  this  ^ve 
are  resolved  to  prosecute,  though  it  is  with  great  reluctance  we 
are  obliged  to  adopt  a  measure  not  so  agreeable  as  could  be  de- 
sired and  to  which  extremity  alone  compels — God  save  the  King." 
At  two  o'clock  Monday  morning,  February  6,  the  people  were 
called  from  their  beds  by  the  ringing'  of  the  bells.  Governor 
Penn  repaired  to  Franklin's  house,  which  he  made  his  headquar- 
ters ;  and  aliout  600  persons,  among  them  a  number  of  Quakers, 
assembled  in  arms.  The  middle  ferry  (Market  Street)  aufl 
upper  ferry  (now  Spring  Garden  Street  bridge)  were  secured: 
but  the  advance  guard  of  the  rebels,  about  two  hundred  strong, 
crossed  the  Schuylkill  at  Swedes'  Ford,  and  proceeded  to  Ger- 
mantown,  where,  having  heard  of  the  preparations  to  receive  them, 
they  rested.  Rain  fell  in  the  city,  and  the  armed  citizens  sought 
cover,  three  companies  filling  the  market  house,  and  a  company, 
embracing  Quaker  youth,  taking  the  Monthly  fleeting  room  at 
the  Friends  nieeting-house.  although  it  was  the  da\-  appointed  for 

538       ' 


Men  of  the  Frontier 

Youth's  }ileeting'.  The  (jONcnior  sent  Frankhn  and  three  oihers 
to  hold  a  parlev  with  the  insurgents,  and  ask  the  reasons  tor  their 
conduct.  The  interview  resuhed  in  saxing'  the  i)ul:)hc  rmthority 
without  bloodshed.  Those  wlio  had  taken  up  arms  against  it 
were  induced  to  say  that  they  would  suspend  hostilities  until  an 
answer  should  he  made  to  the  statement  f>i  gTie\ances.  and  return 
to  their  homes,  while  Matthew  Smith  and  James  (jibson  should 
make  a  formal  petition  to  the  Governor  and  Asseml^ly  on  l)ehalf 
of  the  people  of  the  frontier.  The  defenders  of  the  city  were 
thanked  and  disbanded,  although  called  out  the  next  day  by  the 
coming  into  town  of  some  stragglers,  who,  however,  committed 
no  disorder,  and  soon  retreated  after  their  companions.  A  sec- 
ond attempt  was  made  by  the  Governor  to  get  rid  of  the  Indians, 
but  General  Gage  would  not  approve  of  their  being  sent  back  to 
the  Indian  region,  pointing  out  that  they  were  in  fact  hostages 
for  the  good  behavior  of  their  kindred. 

The  memorial  of  Smith  and  Gibson,  which  was  ])resented 
while  their  friends  were  terrifying  the  eastern  counties  on  the 
journcv  home,  or  receiving  congratulation  and  admiration  on  their 
arrival,  called  attention  to  the  inequality  of  representati<tn  in  the 
Assembly;  the  eastern  or  original  counties  of  Philadelphia  (in- 
cluding the  city).  Chester,  and  Bucks  electing  twenty-six  of  the 
members,  the  other  counties  only  ten,  /.  c,  four  from  Lancaster, 
two  from  Cumberland,  two  from  York,  one  from  Berks,  and  one 
from  Northampton.  Furthermore,  protest  was  made  against  a 
proposed  act  of  Assembly,  which  only  such  inequality  rendered 
possible,  that  those  charged  with  the  killing  of  any  Indian  in 
Lancaster  county  should  be  tried  in  Philadelphia,  Chester,  or 
Bucks.  To  a  restatement  of  the  points  in  the  declaration  was 
added  a  final  complaint  that  the  men  at  Fort  Augusta,  doubtless 
under  direction  from  those  outside,  had  given  no  assistance  to 
sa^■e  the  crops  from  raxage.  not  e\cn  patrolling  the  frontiers. 


539 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE   ATTEMPT  TO   CHANGE  THE   GOVERNMENT 

Wl\  fmd  a  letter  of  Franklin  as  early  as  June  lo,  1758, 
telling-  the  Speaker  and  committee  on  correspondence 
of  the  Assembly  that  Robert  Charles  had  at  his  request 
drawn  up  a  state  of  the  case  to  obtain  the  opinion  of  lawyers  how 
far  the  people's  privileges  then  enjoyed  would  be  affected  in  case 
of  a  change  of  government  l)y  Pennsylvania's  coming  directly 
under  the  Crown,  and  that  this  had  been  referred  to  the  agents' 
counsel,  whose  opinion  Franklin  enclosed.  The  counsel,  know- 
ing the  views,  connections,  and  character  of  the  members  of  the 
Board  of  Trade,  gave  him  some  hints  on  a  separate  sheet,  of 
which  he  also  sent  a  copy,  one  suggestion  being  that  before  push- 
ing the  matter  in  Parliament  something  be  done  to  remove  the 
prejudice  of  the  British  public  against  the  people  of  the  province. 
According!}-  the  Historical  Review  of  the  Constitution  and  Gov- 
ernment of  Pennsylvania  was  written,  probably  by  his  son  Will- 
iam and  his  friend  James  Ralph.  When  Franklin  in  November, 
1762.  returned  to  Philadelphia  from  London,  John  Dickinson  had 
just  been  elected  to  the  .\ssembly.  He  was  a  member  of  the  bar 
who  had  studied  at  the  Temple,  a  native  of  Talbot  county,  Mary- 
land, son  of  Justice  Samuel  Dickinson  of  Kent  county,  Dela- 
ware, and  nephew  of  Dr.  Thomas  Cadwalader  of  the  Governor's 
Council.  While  the  "Paxton  boys"  were  retiring  to  their  homes 
the  Assembly  was  proceeding  to  frame  a  bill  for  raising  the 
money  for  the  one  thousand  soldiers  which  it  had  promised.     By 


Attempt  to  Change  the  Government 

tlie  agreement  of  1760  it  was  allowed  to  tax  the  Projjrietaries' 
located  lands  ui)on  certain  conditions,  among  others  that  "the 
located  uncnlti\ated  lands  of  the  Proprietaries  shall  not  he  as- 
sessed higher  than  the  lowest  rate  at  which  any  located  unculti- 
\'ated  lands  belonging  to  the  inhabitants  shall  be  assessed."  The 
Assembly  now  presented  a  1)ill  using  these  words,  but  with  the 
explanatory  clause,  "under  the  same  circumstances  of  situation, 
kind,  and  (juality."  Penn  asked  that  the  l)ill  use  the  words  of  the 
agreement.  The  Assembly  said  that  there  was  an  ambiguity  in 
them;  they  had  stated  their  construction  of  them,  ami  would  the 
(iovernor  suggest  a  clause  emiiodying  his?  Penn  replied  that 
the  words  were  the  plainest  that  could  be  used.  The  Assembly 
asked  him  if  he  understood  that  wlien  the  worst  lands  of  the 
inhabitants  were  rated  at  so  much,  the  l^est  lands  of  the  Proprie- 
taries should  be  rated  at  no  more.  Penn  insisted  that  there  was 
but  one  meaning  to  the  words,  the  Assembly  was  bound  by  them, 
and  he  would  be  careless  of  his  duty  in  passing  any  bill  that  did 
not  conform  to  them.  The  Assembly  declaimed  against  such 
injustice,  and  the  i)opulace  felt  wronged,  but,  however  unequal 
such  an  arrangement  may  have  been,  there  is  little  doubt  that  it 
was  intended  by  the  Crown,  and  its  reason  may  be  sought  in  the 
Proprietaries'  ch"ead  of  unfair  discrimination  against  them  l)y  the 
assessors,  in  whose  a])pointment  they  had  no  \-()ice.  Such  a  pro- 
vision having  been  made  for  their  protection,  or  even  granted  to 
them  as  a  privilege,  John  Penn.  their  agent,  surely  would  not 
have  been  justified  in  giving  away  anything  so  valuable.  He 
remained  firm. 

On  March  24.  iy(^.  the  House  ad<ii)ted  twenty-six  resolutions 
drawn  up  by  J(.ise])h  (lalloway  complaining  of  the  conduct  of  the 
Proprietaries  and  the  dangers  to  the  Crown  as  well  as  t<j  the 
liberties  of  the  people  of  the  continuance  of  the  government  in  the 
hands  of  JKjlders  of  such  growing  estates,  and  then  the  House 
voted  "to  adjourn  in  order  to  consult  the  people  whether  an 
humble  address  should  be  drawn  up  and  transmitted  to  his  Maj- 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and  Federal 

estv  ])r;i\ini4-  that  he  would  l)e  s^Taciously  pleased  to  take  the  people 
of  this  province  under  his  imuiediate  protection  and  gfoverument." 
A  messa,q"e  was  sent  to  the  Lieutenant-Cioveruor  telling  him  that 
the  hill  lav  ready  for  his  signature,  and  for  present  safety  the 
province  would  depend  upon  the  King's  troops  with  the  l)lessing 
of  God;  and  the  House  adjourned  to  May  14. 

During  the  recess  3,500  persons  signed  petitions  to  George 
III  in  favor  of  the  change,  the  signers  of  one  of  the  petitions 
heing  all  of  them  Friends.  After  the  Assembly  reconvened  and 
had  these  pai)ers  laid  l)ef()re  it  for  transmission,  Galloway,  Frank- 
lin, and  eight  others.  api)ointed  f(,)r  the  i)urpose  at  the  morning 
session  on  the  23d  of  May,  reported  that  afternoon  a  draft  of  a 
similar  petition  from  the  House.  This  was  debated  three  days, 
the  Assembly  sitting  ^\■ith  closed  doors.  On  the  second  day 
Xorris  the  Speaker  re([uested  that,  his  sentiments  being  adverse 
to  the  intentions  of  the  majority,  as  his  seat  in  the  chair  prevented 
him  from  entering  into  the  debate,  therefore  if  in  consequence  of 
their  order  his  dutv  should  oblige  liim  to  sign  the  petition  as 
Speaker,  he  might  be  permitted  to  offer  his  sentiments  on  the 
subject  before  he  signed,  and  that  they  might  be  entered  on  the 
minutes.  This  request  was  granted.  Dickinson  in  a  speech 
which  he  afterwards  published,  pleaded  with  his  fellow^  members 
and  felknv  opponents  of  Proprietary  injustice,  not  to  let  their 
resentment  ])ro(luce  effects  more  fatal  than  the  injuries  of  which 
they  complained.  If  the  change  of  government  could  take  place 
with  all  the  colonial  privileges  preserved,  let  it  do  so  instantly, 
but  "if  thev  must  be  consumed  in  the  l)la;^e  of  royal  authority,  we 
shall  pay  too  great  a  price  for  our  approach  to  the  throne."  He 
thought — as  he  afterwards  did  when  the  declaration  of  American 
independence  was  proposed — that  the  proper  time  had  not  ar- 
rived. He  pointed  out  that  the  assemblymen  were  voting  to  put 
themsehes  under  the  King,  when  they  were  lal)oring  under  royal 
displeasure  for  their  conduct  in  the  late  war:  and  would  not  the 
indignation  of  the  Court  rise  beyond  all  bounds,  when  they  found 


Attempt  to  Cliangc  the  Government 

this  apjjHcation  for  a  chanoe  proceeded  from  the  Governor's  ad- 
lierence  to  stipulations  ai)i)roved  hy  the  late  and  present  King? 
The  time  mii^ht  come  when  the  weight  of  government  would  be 
too  hea\}'  for  the  shoulders  of  a  sui)ject:  at  least  too  heavy  for 
those  of  a  woman  or  an  infant;  and  when  the  point  should  be 
agitated  either  on  a  pro])osal  from  the  Crown  or  the  l'roi)rietaries 
themselves,  the  province  could  plead  the  cause  of  her  privileges 
with  greater  freedom  and  more  probability  of  success  than  at 
present.  Now  they  were  to  request  his  Majesty  to  change  the 
government,  and  yet  insist  on  the  preservation  of  their  privileges. 
His  Majesty  would  not  accept  the  government  clogged  in  that 
way;  and  then  would  they  ask  it  back?  or  let  it  go  on  such  condi- 
tions as  he  wou]<l  lie  pleased  to  impose?  It  was  the  desire  of  the 
Ministry  to  vest  the  government  advantageously  in  the  Crown: 
let  the  Assembly  i)etition  for  a  change,  and  Parliament  would 
pass  an  act  delixering  the  colon}-  at  once  from  the  Proprietors  and 
the  privileges  claimed  under  them.  "Power  is  like  the  ocean  : 
not  easily  admitting  limits  to  be  fixed  to  it.  .  .  .  Let  not  us 
then,  in  expectation  of  smooth  seas  and  an  undisturbed  coiu'se. 
tcKj  rashly  venture  our  little  vessel  that  hath  safely  sailed  round 
oiu-  well-known  shores  u])on  the  midst  of  the  untried  deep,  with- 
out being  tirst  full)-  conxinced  that  her  make  is  strong  enough  to 
bear  the  weather  she  may  meet  with,  and  that  she  is  well  pro\ided 
for  so  long  and  so  dangerous  a  voyage." 

How  much  of  (ialloway's  reply  as  printed  was  acluall}-  sjioken 
at  the  time,  we  cannot  say.  Dickinson  said  that  the  speech  was 
never  deli\ered.  and  Galloway  acknowledged  that  it  was  some- 
what re-written.  To  Dickinson's  claim  that  the  project  was  ill- 
timed,  when  the  Colony  was  so  much  under  displeasure  at  Coiu't. 
he  said  that  he  had  not  "the  vanity  to  hope  that  if  we  cannot  now 
succeed  in  remo\ing  the  prejudices  occasioned  by  Proprietary 
Misrepresentations  we  shall  e\er  see  the  Da}'  while  the  Powers  of 
(iovernment  are  united  with  immense  property  that  Proprietary 
Influence  or  Ministerial  Prejudice  against  us  will  cease.      But  I 

543 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

must  tear  a  little  time  will  shew  us  in  the  ridieultms  Li<;"ht  that 
Horace  shews  his  Clown  'who  meeting"  a  Rixer  in  his  Road  sat 
down  on  the  I^ank  to  wait  till  the  Stream  should  ])ass  him: 

'  Rusticus  exspcclat  duni  dctluat  aninis:    al   ilk- 
'  Labitur;    et  labetur  in  onine  volubilis  a'vuiii." 

T]]c  ])etition  was  a(lo])tC(l  1)\'  "a  ,!^"reat  majority."  and  ordered 
to  he  transcrihed.  On  reassemhlin;^"  the  next  niornini^'.  the  Mouse 
received  a  letter  from  Xorris  resig-ning  the  speakershi]).  The 
long  sitting  and  the  excitement  had  heen  too  much  for  his  weak- 
ened constitution,  and.  heing  too  unwell  to  attend,  he  axailed  him- 
self of  the  excuse  to  be  relieved  of  the  un])leasant  duty  of  signing 
the  paper.  Benjamin  Franklin  was  chosen  his  successor,  the 
petition  was  tinall}-  adopted,  and  he  signed  it.  Hoping  in  due 
time  to  be  relieved  of  Proprietary  rule,  and  fearing  the  conse- 
quences of  further  dela}'ing  the  raising  of  revenue,  the  Assembly 
on  May  29  finallv  under  ])rotest  struck  out  the  clauses  in  the  sup- 
ply bill  to  which  the  Governoi-  had  objected,  and  the  bill  was 
passed.  Later  on  the  Proprietaries  in  England  sent  word  wai\- 
ing  their  advantage,  and  requesting  the  assessors,  notwithstand- 
ing the  phraseology  of  the  act.  to  tax  their  estates  at  the  lowest 
rate  at  which  they  should  assess  the  inhabitants'  lands  "under  the 
same  circumstances  of  situation,  kind,  and  quality." 

During  the  winter  (^f  such  excitement  in  Pennsylvania  the 
British  Ministry  were  determining  upon  measures  to  which  they 
were  almost  driven  by  the  want  of  military  system  among  the 
colonies  and  the  leaving  to  the  Assemblies  respectively  whether 
and  when  and  how  much  they  would  vote  for  expeditions  for 
their  own  or  the  common  protection.  A  union  of  delegates  mak- 
ing an  apportionment  which  their  constituents  would  be  morally 
bound  to  carry  out  not  having  been  established.  Grenville  thought 
he  saw  in  the  extension  of  the  stamp  law  to  America  the  easiest 
means  of  securing  its  contribution  to  the  expenses  of  the  Empire. 
Apparently  the  Chief  Justice  of  Pennsylvania  delayed  the  meas- 

544 


Attempt  to  Change  the  Government 

ure.  A  letter  from  London  to  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette,  dated 
March  24,  1764,  says:  "The  15th  Resolntion  relating  to  the 
Stamp  Duty,  will  certainly  pass  next  Session,  unless  the  Ameri- 
cans offer  a  more  certain  duty.  Had  not  William  Allen.  Esq. 
been  here  and  indefatigable  in  opposing  it,  and  happily  having 
made  Accjuaintance  with  the  first  Personages 
in  the  Kingdom  and  the  greatest  part  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  it  would  inevitably  have 
passed  this  session." 

The  last   document   signed   by   Franklin   as 
Speaker  of  the  Pennsylvania   Assembly   was  a 


Family  Flax  Hackeis 


Used  by  early   Pennsylvania   Germans.     Photo- 
graphed especially  for  this  work  by  J.  F.  Sachse 


message  to  Richard  Jackson,  "Patron  and  standing  counsel 
for  the  i^rovincc."  that  the  stamp  duties  and  other  taxes 
mentioned  in  the  resolutions  of  the  House  of  Commons  as 
proposed  to  be  laid  on  the  colonies  would  deprive  the  peo- 
ple of  the  province  of  their  most  essential  rights  as  British 
subjects  and  of  the  right  granted  to  them  by  the  charter  of  King- 
Charles  n.  wherein  the  assessing  of  their  own  taxes,  and  freedom 

1-35  545 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and  Federal 

Ironi  any  iinpdsitions  l)nl  those  made  by  their  own  representatives 
was  fully  granted,  and  as  the  Ministry,  according-  to  information 
received,  were  desirous  of  consulting  the  ease,  interest,  and  good 
will  of  the  Colonies,  a  remonstrance  might  prevail  upon  Parlia- 
ment to  lay  aside  their  intention ;  furthermore  a  plan  to  oblige  tlie 
colonies  to  grant  the  necessary  aids  to  the  Crown  in  time  of  dan- 
ger had  been  under  consideration  by  the  Assembly  and  would  be 
transmitted,  and  there  should  be  moreover  a  repeal  or  amendment 
of  the  Act  of  Parlianient  for  regulating  the  sugar  trade,  particu- 
larly as  to  its  prohibition  of  the  export  of  lumber  to  Ireland  and 
other  parts  of  Europe.  Grenville  had  called  together  the  agents 
of  the  colonies,  and  stated  his  intention  to  pass  a  stamp  law  at  the 
ensuing  session,  unless  they  could  suggest  a  duty  equally  produc- 
tive after  communicating  with  the  Assemblies  which  they  repre- 
sented. 

The  one  thousand  men  furnished  by  Pennsylvania,  reduced  by 
the  desertion  of  two  hundred  before  leaving  Carlisle,  and  of  others 
at  Fort  Bedford,  made  with  a  very  few  regulars  and  about  two 
hundred  Virginians  the  army  of  Bouquet,  which  advanced  from 
h^ort  Pitt  in  October,  1764,  marched  ninety-six  miles  to  the  Mus- 
kingum, mostly  through  a  ^\•ilderness  which  the  savages  had 
deemed  their  sure  defense,  and,  appearing  in  such  force  in  the 
heart  of  the  enemy's  country,  compelled  the  liberation  of  all  the 
white  people  then  in  captivity.  So  thoroughly  is  Pennsylvania 
entitled  to  the  credit  of  this  expedition,  which  not  only  restored 
so  many  of  her  men,  women,  and  children  to  their  families,  but 
had  the  chief  part  in  securing  peace  to  adjoining  colonies,  that, 
whereas  the  legislatures  of  Maryland  and  Virginia  contributed 
not  a  penny  to  the  expense,  and  left  Bouquet  personally  liable  for 
the  pay  of  the  volunteers  from  those  provinces,  the  Pennsylvania 
Assembly  in  due  time  came  to  his  relief,  and  paid  for  this  also. 

After  the  publication  of  Dickinson's  and  Galloway's  speeches 
upon  the  change  of  government,  the  former,  who  went  so  far  as 
to  challenge  the  latter  to  a  duel,  which  was  declined,  printed  a 

546 


Attempt  to  Change  the  Government 

fierce  invective  a«-ainst  Clalloway.  charging  him  with  extortion 
and  various  chshonorahle  practices.  At  the  October  election  the 
oi)i)()nents  of  the  change  of  government  had  the  sujjport  of  the 
Presbyterians,  to  whom  the  important  (juestion  was  defending 
the  province  and  particularly  their  brethren  on  the  frontiers,  and 
mattered  comparatively  little  whether  the  Proprietaries  or  the 
richer  inhabitants  i)aid  for  it.  and  who  feared  that  under  the 
Crown  the  Church  of  England  might  become  established.  Dick- 
inson w^as  re-elected  to  the  Assembly,  as  was  Norris  against  his 
expressed  wish,  (ialloway  and  Franklin  were  defeated,  the  latter 
by  25  majority  out  of  4.000  votes;  and  only  two  out  of  the  ten 
representatives  from  Philadelphia  city  and  county  were  in  favor 
of  the  change  of  government.  Norris  was  accordingly  again 
chosen  Speaker.  But  the  majority  of  the  P>ucks  and  Chester  del- 
egation remained  against  Proprietary  authority,  and  the  Assembly 
not  onlv  refused  to  recall  the  i)etition  to  the  King,  the  vote  stand- 
ing 10  to  22.  l)ut  even  to  delay  its  presentation,  as  asked  l)y  Nor- 
ris. this  vote  standing  12  to  20.  and,  after  Norris  had  again  and 
finally  resigned  the  speakership,  and  Joseph  Fox  had  succeeded 
him,  fm-thermore  appointed  Franklin  as  an  additional  agent  in 
London,  and  directed  him  to  go  with  all  dispatch,  and  his  ex- 
penses to  be  paid.  In  all  these  votes,  George  Taylor  from  North- 
ampton county,  afterwards  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, was  with  the  minority,  and  Tf>hn  ^btrtc^n  joined  it  as 
to  the  last  proposition.  The  majority  which  wi.shed  to  divest 
the  Foundei"'s  descendants  of  their  authority  were  the  strict  fol- 
lowers of  the  Founder's  religion.  Nathaniel  Pennock,  William 
Rodman,  Charles  Humphreys,  and  Isaac  Pearson  were  among 
them.  Penn  granted  a  church  charter  to  the  Puthcrans  with  the 
design  of  drawing  that  vote  away  from  the  (juakers.  but  subse- 
<[uently  wrote :  "There  is  no  resisting  the  intrigues  of  the  Yearly 
Meeting."  Franklin  sailed  for  l'jigl;uid  on  Novemlier  8.  17^)4, 
being  escorted  by  three  hundred  admirers  to  Chester,  where  he 
embarked.     He  took  with  him  a  copy  of  a  resolution  which  the 

547 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

Asseml)!}'  upon  hearing'  of  Grenville's  proposal  of  a  stamp  act  or 
some  other  means  of  revenue  had  passed,  acknowledging  it  a  duty 
to  grant  aid  to  the  Crown  according  to  ability  whenever  required 
in  the  usual  constitutional  manner. 

George  Croghan,  the  deputy  agent  for  Indian  affairs,  went  to 
Fort  Pitt  in  February,  1765,  and  spent  some  months  in  negotiat- 
ing with  the  Delawares,  Shawanees.  Senecas,  and  Sandusky  In- 
dians to  induce  them  to  perform  their  engagements  with  Bouquet 
by  delivering  all  the  English  and  negroes  remaining  in  their  vil- 
lages, and  by  sending  deputies  to  Sir  William  Johnson  to  ratify  a 
lasting  peace.  At  one  of  the  pow-wows,  Kyashuta,  a  Seneca 
chief,  asked  for  a  restoration  of  the  sale  of  powder,  lead,  and  rum, 
which  had  been  prohibited  a  year  or  two  before  the  recent  troubles. 
He  said :  "You  make  rum,  and  have  taught  us  to  drink  it :  you 
are  fond  of  it  yourselves;  therefore  don't  deprive  us  of  it.''  Cro- 
ghan obtained  the  release  of  many  captives,  and  brought  about  the 
meeting  with  Johnson,  whereby  on  May  8,  a  definite  treaty  of 
peace  was  made  with  the  Delawares.  Croghan's  subsequent  jour- 
ney to  the  Illinois  country,  on  which  he  was  captured  and  nar- 
rowly escaped  being  burnt  alive,  resulted  in  the  coming  of  Pon- 
tiac  himself,  who  had  found  his  schemes  hopeless,  to  Johnson  on 
July  23,  1766. 

On  setting  out  for  Fort  Pitt,  Croghan  had  given  a  pass  for 
Baynton  and  Wharton's  goods  to  be  brought  with  the  remainder 
of  his  presents  for  the  Indians  by  Captain  Callender ;  but  the  peo- 
ple of  Cumberland  county  took  the  law  into  their  own  hands  to 
prevent  warlike  stores  being  supplied  to  savages  recently  in  arms. 
The  goods  were  packed  on  eighty-one  horses.  On  March  6,  a 
large  company  started  from  the  house  of  William  Smith,  one  of 
the  county  justices,  and  came  up  with  this  caravan  at  Sideling" 
Hill,  about  17  miles  beyond  Fort  Loudoun,  and  burned  or  pil- 
laged sixty-three  of  the  horse  loads.  A  sergeant  and  twelve  men 
of  the  Highlanders,  sent  from  the  fort,  went  through  the  neigh- 
borhood, saved  the  rest  of  the  goods,  and  captured  several  persons 

548 


Attempt  to  Change  the  Government 

and  tivc  rifles  and  four  smooth  guns.  Justice  Smith's  relative. 
James  Smith,  formerly  a  lieutenant  in  the  Provincial  troops,  ap- 
peared in  a  few  days  with  a  mob,  and  declared  that  they  would 
die  to  a  man  rather  than  let  the  prisoners  be  put  into  Carlisle  jail. 
Horses  laden  with  liquors,  etc..  for  the  troops  at  Fort  Pitt,  under 
a  pass  from  the  commander  there,  arriving  at  Fort  Loudoun 
about  the  ist  of  May.  had  been  relieved  of  their  burden  within 
the  latter  fort,  and  taken  by  their  drivers  (Wt  to  pasture,  when 
thirty  men  with  their  faces  blackened  came  upon  them,  flogged 
the  drivers,  killed  five  horses,  and  burned  all  the  saddles.  Alarm 
being  given,  a  sergeant  and  twehe  men  started  from  the  fort,  and 
in  a  battle  which  ensued  one  of  the  inhabitants  was  wounded. 
.Another  time  did  James  Smith  bring  a  mob  to  the  fort,  then 
being  accompanied  by  three  justices  who  demanded  to  search  the 
goods.  Lieutenant  Charles  Grant  of  the  Highlanders,  the  com- 
mander, explained  that  the  General  had  committed  the  goods  to 
his  care,  but  had  ordered  an  inventory  to  be  taken  before  a  justice 
of  the  peace;  this  however  could  not  be  done  in  the  presence  of 
a  mob.  Justice  Smith  replied  that  he  would  not  come  again  for 
that  purpose,  as  he  was  not  bound  to  obey  the  General,  and  con- 
tended that  a  military  officer's  pass  was  not  sufficient  without  a 
magistrate's  pass.  Subsequently  Justice  Smith  issued  several 
passes  through  the  neighborhood.  The  vigilance  men  threw  off 
the  restraints  of  decent  a])pearance  by  issuing  the  following: 
"Advertisement.  These  are  to  give  notice  to  all  our  Lo\a]  \'ol- 
unteers,  to  those  that  has  not  yet  enlisted,  you  arc  to  come  to  our 
Town  and  come  to  our  Tavern  and  fill  your  P.ell}'s  with  Lic|uor 
and  your  ^louth  with  swearing,  and  you  will  ha\e  \iiur  pass,  but 
if  not,  your  Back  must  be  whipt  and  your  mouth  be  gagged. 
We  will  have  Grant,  the  officer  of  Loudon,  whip'd  or 
lianged.     .  .     The  Governor  will  pardon  our  Crimes,  and  the 

Clergy  will  give  us  absolution,  and  the  Country  will  stand  by  us ; 
so  we  may  do  what  we  please  .  .  .  free  toleration  for  drink- 
ing, swearing,  sabbath  breaking,  and  any  outrage  what  we  have 

549 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

a  niiiul  to,  to  let  those  Strans^ers  know  their  place.  .  .  .  We 
call  it  Hell's  town,  in  Cnmhcrland  county,  the  25th  May,  1765. 
Peters  Township  .  .  ."  The  crowning-  deed  was  on  May  28. 
Lieutenant  (irant.  while  riding'  ahout  a  mile  from  the  fort,  was 
hred  at.  and  the  horse  starting-,  and  he  being-  thrown,  he  was 
seized  bv  James  Smith  and  others,  taken  six  miles  off.  kept  all 
night  in  the  w^oods,  and  threatened  with  being  carried  to  the 
mountains  and  detained  there,  and  the  fort  taken  by  force  unless 
he  would  give  up  the  arms  captured  from  the  rioters.  Upon 
Grant  refusing  and  saying  that  those  wh(^  put  such  threats  into 
execution  would  be  treated  as  rebels,  they  replied  that  they  were 
readv  for  rebellion,  and  would  take  him  to  Carolina ;  but  after 
travelling  eight  miles  he  was  set  at  liberty  on  giving  a  lx)nd  for 
40/.  if  he  should  not  deliver  the  arms  in  five  weeks.  There  is  a 
letter  printed  among  the  Pennsylvania  archives  from  James  Smith 
dated  June  19:  "Sir:  The  arms  that  are  detained  in  Loudon,  you 
may  keep  them,  keep  them,  keep  them.'' 

On  June  4,  1765,  Governor  Penn  declared  trade  with  the  Li- 
dians  open  from  June  20  to  all  inhabitants  of  the  prcw'ince  who 
should  apply  for  and  obtain  his  license,  and  requiring  all  the  King's 
subjects  to  permit  any  person  with  such  license  to  travel  to  Fort 
Pitt  with  his  goods,  and  any  person  with  the  pass  of  the  com- 
manding officer  of  any  garrison  to  transport  military  stores. 

Wdien  the  Stamp  Act  w-as  passed,  Grenville,  to  conciliate  the 
Americans,  asked  their  agents  to  suggest  the  person  to  have  the 
sale  of  the  stamps  in  their  respective  colonies.  Franklin  named 
his  friend  John  Hughes,  who  in  the  Assembly  had  been  voting 
with  the  op])()nents  of  the  Proprietaries;  and  much  capital  did 
Franklin's  enemies  try  to  make  out  of  this  participation  in 
the  introduction  of  the  stamps,  while  Hughes  and  Galloway  tried 
to  lay  the  blame  for  the  popular  outburst  upon  the  Proprietary 
party  in  both  contrivance  and  connivance,  Hughes  writing  to  Lon- 
don that  if  the  government  were  taken  from  the  Penns,  and  a 
(jovernor  who  knew  the  people  appointed,   Pennsylvania  could 


Attempt  to  Change  the  Government 

easily  be  kept  in  order.  The  (juakers  and  tlie  Baptists  and  such 
Church  of  England  ])eople  as  were  not  contn^lled  by  the  Proprie- 
taries were,  he  said,  willing-  to  obey  the  stamp  law. 

Upon  suggestion  by  the  Massachusetts  Assembly  that  the  va- 
rious Houses  of  Rei)resentati\-cs  or  Burgesses  in  America  send 
committees  to  a  meeting  in  Xew  York  on  the  first  Tuesday  of 
October,  1765.  to  consider  a  united  representation  to  the  King 
and  T'arliamcnt,  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  decided  unani- 
mously that  it  ought  to  remonstrate  against  the  Stamp  Act.  and 
appointed  as  committee  the  Speaker  and  Dickinson  with  George 
Bryan  and  John  Morton.  Xine  resolutions  on  the  subject  oi  the 
'"unconstitutional  impositions"  were  unanimous^ly  jjassed. 

Hughes  was  afraid  of  being  mobbed,  and  on  the  night  of  Sep- 
tember 16.  w'hen  there  were  bonfires  on  account  of  the  change  in 
the  Ministry,  he  was  armed  watching  for  an  attack  on  his  house; 
there  were  several  relatives  with  Mrs.  Franklin  at  the  Doctor's, 
while  eight  hundred  of  their  friends  w-ere  distributed  through  the 
streets;  but  at  midnight  those  wdiom  they  feared  dispersed  after 
burning  a  "stamp  man"  in  effigy.  Hughes  wrote  to  Governor 
John  Pcnn  and  to  Dickeson.  the  master  of  the  ship  which  brought 
the  stamps,  that  he  had  received  no  commission  to  take  charge  of 
them.  The  shi])  then  lay  at  New  Castle  for  fear  of  injury,  but 
on  October  5  she  sailed  up  the  river  to  Philadelphia,  accompanied 
by  a  man-of-war.  All  the  ^•esscls  in  the  harbor  \nn  their  flags  at 
half  mast,  the  bells  of  the  State  House  and  Christ  Church  were 
muffled  and  tolled  until  evening,  and  two  negroes  with  drums 
summoned  the  people  to  a  meeting  at  the  State  House,  which  sent 
Robert  ]Morris.  Charles  Thomson,  and  others  to  Plughes.  who 
was  very  ill  at  home,  asking  him  to  resign,  or  at  least  to  promise 
not  to  execute  his  office.  The  crowd,  Hughes  said,  was  stirred 
up  by  the  son  of  Franklin's  great  enemy,  Chief-Justice  Allen,  and 
threats  were  made  against  Hughes's  person  and  property.  On 
the  following  Monday  he  gave  assurance  that  neither  he  nor  his 
deputies  would  act  until  the  King's  pleasure  be  known,  or  the  law 

551 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

be  put  into  execution  in  the  other  colonies,  or  the  Governor  com- 
mand him.  Those  who  held  the  interview  with  Hughes  declared : 
"We  will  see  who  will  dare  put  llic  act  into  execution;  'upon  the 
Governor's  appointment' — we  will  take  care  of  that."  It  was  re- 
ported that  the  Governor  left  the  cit\-  the  dav  the  vessel  arrived. 


Old  Foot  Warmer 

Used  in  churches  during  the  i8th  century.  Photo- 
graphed especially  for  this  work  by  J.  F.  Sachse 

On  Monday  or  Tuesday,  he  had  the  stamps  put  upon  the  man-of- 
war.  Hughes  wrote  soon  after  to  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Stamp  Office  that  he  would  perform  his  duties  if  his  hands  were 
sufficiently  strengthened ;  but  in  due  time  he  resigned. 

The  Speaker,  Fox,  did  not  go  to  New  York,  and  Dickinson 
was  called  home  by  urgent  business.  .\t  the  election  in  October, 
1765,  Galloway  was  returned  from  Philadelphia  county,  but  James 


Attempt  to  Change  the  Government 

Pemberton  and  George  Bryan  received  an  equal  number  of  votes, 
resulting  in  a  second  election,  at  which  Pemberton  was  chosen. 

On  November  7,  1765,  the  merchants  of  Philadelphia  assem- 
bled at  the  Court  House,  adopted  non-importation  resolutions 
which  were,  embodied  in  an  agreement  sr>on  signed  by  almost 
everybody  who  could  be  described  as  a  merchant  (»r  trader,  set- 
ting forth  that  the  difficulties  they  labored  under  were  owing  to 
the  restrictions,  prohibitions,  and  ill  ach'ised  resolutions  in  recent 
acts  of  Parliament.  These  measures  had  limited  the  expcnlation 
of  some  of  the  i)r()duce.  increased  the  exi)ense  of  many  imported 
articles,  and  cut  off  the  means  of  supplying  themselves  with  suffi- 
cient specie  eveii  to  pay  the  duties  imposed.  The  ])ri)vince  was 
heavily  in  debt  to  Great  Britain  for  importations  and  the  Stamp 
Act  would  tend  to  prevent  remittances,  and  so,  it  was  hoped  that 
the  people  of  the  province  wt>uld  be  frugal  in  the  consumption  of 
all  manufactures  except  those  of  America  or  of  Ireland  coming 
directly  from  thence,  and  that  the  merchants  and  manufacturers 
of  Great  Britain  would  find  it  to  their  interest  to  befriend  them : 
therefore  the  subscribers  agreed  and  pledged  their  honor  to  direct 
all  goods  to  be  ordered  from  Great  Britain  not  to  be  shipped,  and 
to  cancel  all  former  orders  until  the  Stamp  Act  be  repealed,  the 
ships  already  cleared  for  Great  Britain  owned  bv  the  merchants 
being  allowed  to  bring  back  the  usual  bulky  articles,  but  no  drv 
goods  except  dye  stuffs  and  utensils  necessary  for  carrying  on 
manufactures,  and  furthermore  to  sell  no  articles  sent  on  com- 
mission after  January  i.  The  committee  which  circulated  this 
agreement  for  signatures,  and  was  appointed  to  see  to  its  being- 
carried  out,  was  composed  of  Thomas  Willing,  Samuel  Mifflin. 
Thomas  Montgomery,  Samuel  Howell,  Samuel  W'harton,  John 
Rhea,  William  Fisher,  Joshua  Fisher,  Peter  Chevalier.  Benjamin 
Fuller,  and  Abel  James.  The  shopkeepers  also  met  and  agreed 
to  buy  no  British  go<.)ds  until  the  repeal  of  the  act. 

On  November  16,  at  7  o'clock  at  night.  Fort  Loudoun  was  at- 
tacked by  rioters,  who,  increasing  in  numbers,  kept  hring  at  it 

553 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

until  the  afternoon  of  the  i8th.  when  William  McDowell  said  that 
if  Lieutenant  Grant  would  let  him  have  the  captured  arms  he 
would  g"ive  a  receipt  to  hold  them  subject  to  the  Governor's  orders. 
.As  the  General  had  written  to  ha\e  the  arms  surrendered  when 
the  Governor  required  and  Lieutenant  Grant  had  little  ammuni- 
tion, and  did  not  know  when  reenforcements  would  arrive,  the 
arms  were  given  to  McDowell,  and  the  receipt  taken.  James  Smith 
and  Samuel  Owens  then  gave  bond  not  to  interrupt  any  person 
going  or  coming  thereafter.  Ensign  Herring  with  thirty  soldiers 
from  Fort  Bedford  arrived  two  hours  later.  With  this  escort  the 
garrison  of  Fort  Loudoun  retired  to  Fort  Bedford. 

The  Assembly  on  January  14,  1766,  addressed  the  House  of 
Commons  in  favor  of  a  repeal  of  the  act  of  4  George  HI  prohib- 
iting bills  of  credit  thereafter  issued  from  being  a  legal  tender. 
It  was  pointed  out  that  without  a  proper  medium  of  circulating 
cash,  the  trade  of  the  colony  must  return  to  mere  barter,  as  it  had 
largely  been  before  the  paper  money  was  introduced ;  that  the 
trade  to  foreign  ports,  from  whence  the  merchants  formerly  im- 
ported gold  and  silver,  was  obstructed  by  the  high  duties  on  the 
produce  of  those  ports,  and,  even  when  such  should  be  reduced, 
the  gold  and  silver  would  be  shipped  to  England  in  discharge  of 
debts  due  in  the  Mother  Country ;  that  as  every  debtor's  person 
could  be  taken  for  debt,  every  American  would  l)e  liable  to  im- 
prisonment at  the  pleasure  of  his  creditor ;  that  the  future  of  the 
importation  of  British  manufactures  depended  on  this  liberty  of 
issuing  paper  money,  with  the  increase  or  diminution  of  which 
and  of  foreign  gold  and  silver  the  importations  from  (ireat  Brit- 
ain had  increased  or  diminished;  in  1760  they  were  largest,  the 
l)ills  of  credit  outstanding  amounting  to  500.000/.,  now  the  bills 
amounted  to  about  293,000/.,  and  before  the  year  1773  all  now 
current  would  be  withdrawn  from  circulation,  and  it  was  feared 
the  commerce  with  the  Mother  Country  would  "languish  and  ex- 
pire with  them."  On  account  of  the  scarcity  of  money,  the  debt 
on  the  province,  the  exhausted  state  of  the  funds,  and  the  diffi- 

554 


Attempt  to  Change  the  Government 

culty  of  raising-  any,  the  Assembly  the  next  day  declined  to  aid 
the  sufferers  from  the  fire  at  Montreal ;  and  at  this  time  steps  \vere 
taken  to  build  a  new  almshouse  in  Philadelphia.  Several  mer- 
chants formed  an  association  for  issuing  notes  payable  to  bearer 
in  lieu  of  money ;  but  a  large  number  of  persons  remonstrated 
against  this,  telling  the  Assembly  that  they  conceived  "the  power 
and  right  of  striking  bills  of  credit  as  money  or  otherwise  form- 
ing a  general  currency,  is  and  ought  to  be  lodged  in  the  legisla- 
ture of  the  province  alone,  and  that  no  man  or  companies  of  men 
ought  to  1)e  permitted  to  act  in  derogation  or  diminution  of  that 
power." 

Governor  Penn  removed  \\'i]]iam  Smith  from  the  magistracy 
of  Cumberland  county,  from  avenging  which  upon  Baynton  and 
Wharton's  remaining  goods,  his  friends  were  with  trouble  re- 
strained. Humiliating  to  General  Gage  and  Governor  Penn  as 
were  these  insults  to  the  King's  uniform  and  the  inability  to  pun- 
ish them,  there  was  more  serious  concern  in  the  obstruction  of 
communication  for  traders  with  their  goods  to  reach  the  Illinois 
countrv,  where  the  h'rcncli  across  the  Mississippi  were  ready  to 
obtain  an  influence  by  commerce.  While  the  allegiance  of  the 
Indians  was  thus  jeopardized,  white  men  began  to  creep  over  the 
mountains,  and  encroach  upon  land  not  yet  sold  by  the  aborigines. 
So  Red  Stone  settlement  was  made,  at  the  risk  of  another  Indian 
war.  Gage  sent  a  detachment  of  Highlanders  to  this  region  to 
compel  all  whites  west  of  the  Alleghanies  to  return  to  their  own 
provinces;  but  those  who  left  went  back  again  with  others  some 
months  later. 

In  February  of  this  year,  h'ranklin.  still  in  l-'ngland  as  an 
asfent  for  Pennsvlvania,  was  examined  before  the  House  of  Com- 
mons.  He  said  that  there  was  not  enough  gold  and  silver  in  the 
colonies  to  pay  the  stamp  duty  for  a  year.  He  told  of  tlie  heavy 
taxes  laid  u])on  I'ennsylvania  by  its  own  laws,  the  desolation  of 
the  frontier  counties,  the  impracticability  of  the  people  providing 
themselves  with  stamps,  etc.,  and  gave  as  his  opinion  that  the 

555 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

people  of  America  would  never  submit  to  paying  the  stamp  duty 
unless  compelled  by  force.  He  estimated  the  white  population 
of  Pennsylvania  to  be  about  160,000,  one-third  of  them,  perhaps, 
being  Quakers,  and  another  third,  perhaps,  l^eing  Germans.  The 
imports  of  Pennsylvania  from  Great  Britain  had  been  computed 
at  above  500,000/. ;  its  exports  thither,  he  did  not  suppose  could 
exceed  40.000/.  The  remainder  was  paid  by  its  produce  carried  to 
the  West  Indies,  and  sold  in  Britain's  islands  there  or  to  the 
French.  Spaniards,  Danes,  and  Dutch,  or  carried  to  other  colonies 
in  North  America,  as  New  England,  Nova  Scotia,  Newfoundland, 
Carolina,  and  Georgia,  or  carried  to  different  parts  of  Europe,  as 
Spain,  Portugal,  and  Italy ;  in  all  which  places  were  received 
either  money,  bills  of  exchange,  or  commodities  which  suited  for 
remittance  to  Britain,  which,  together  with  all  the  profits  on  the 
industry  of  the  merchants  and  mariners  arising  in  those  circuitous 
voyages  and  the  freights  made  by  their  ships,  did  centre  finally 
in  Britain  to  discharge  the  remainder,  and  pay  for  British  manu- 
factures continually  used  in  the  provinces  or  sold  to  foreigners  by 
our  traders.  In  his  other  answers,  Franklin  impressed  Parlia- 
ment with  the  state  of  feeling  in  America,  the  capacity  of  the 
Americans  to  do  for  themselves,  and  covertly  their  fighting 
strength.  Parliament  repealed  the  Stamp  Act  on  February  18, 
1766.  Conway,  one  of  the  Secretaries  of  State,  announcing  this 
to  Governor  Penn,  instructed  him  to  assure  the  Assembly  of  the 
King's  "approbation  of  the  wise  and  prudent,  as  well  as  dutiful 
behavior,  which  the  province  of  Pennsylvania  has  held  amidst  the 
too  prevailing  distractions  which  have  so  greatly  agitated  the 
other  colonies." 

John  Penn  on  May  31,  1766,  married  Miss  Anne  Allen,  niece 
of  his  predecessor  in  office,  James  Hamilton,  and  daughter  of 
Chief  Justice  Allen,  supposed  to  be  then  the  richest  man  in  the 
colony. 

Galloway  in  1766  became  Speaker  of  the  Assembly,  in  which 
position  he  continued  nine  vears. 

556 


Attempt  to  Change  the  Government 

Three  items  are  worthy  of  note  as  showing  the  manners  or 
morals  of  the  community  or  different  portions  of  it  at  this  period. 
In  November,  1766,  a  Jockey  Chib  was  started  with  about  eighty 
members,  Richard  Penn,  John's  brother,  Ijeing  president,  to  "en- 
courage the  breeding  of  good  horses  and  to  promote  the  pleasures 
of  the  turf."  The  members  subscribed  upwards  of  3/.  each  per 
annum,  and  in  October  of  each  year  there  were  races  for  the  gen- 


Family  Ercaii  Basket 

Used  hy    (^.erman   settlers.     Photographed  espe- 
cially for  this  work  by  J.  F.  Sachse 

Clemen's  purse  of  100  guineas,  the  sweepstakes  of  25  guineas,  the 
ladies'  purse  (for  colts  and  fillies),  and  the  City  plate  of  50/.  con- 
tributed by  the  vintners,  innkeepers,  etc.,  benefited  by  the  con- 
course of  strangers.  The  club  lasted  until  the  Revolution.  How- 
ever, upon  the  remonstrance  from  a  great  number  of  persons  of 
different  religious  denominations,  the  Assembly  on  February  18, 
1767.  thus  addressed  the  Governor:  "That  taking  into  their  most 
serious  consideration  the  pernicii^ais  tendency  of  stage  plays  and 
theatrical  performances  in  a  young  colony  laboring  under  a  heavy 
debt  to  the  Mother  Country,  1>esides  burthensome  taxes  to  dis- 
charge the  expence  of  the  last  war,  they  cannot  avoid  expressing 
the  deepest  concern  to  find  a  theatre  lately  erected  in  the  suburbs 

557 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

of  this  citv,  and  exhibitions  of  that  kind  repeated  three  times  a 
week.  That  the  remarkable  prosperity  of  this  province  during 
its  infant  state  as  weH  as  the  late  flourishing  circumstances  thereof 
has  been  under  the  favor  of  Divine  Providence  chiefly  owing  to 
the  sobriety,  frugality,  and  industry  of  the  inhabitants.  That  the 
House  conceive  theatrical  performances  in  this  infant  colony  will 
necessarily  introduce  idleness,  prodigalit\-.  and  dissipation  among 
the  people  and' more  especially  among  those  who  are  the  least  able 
to  support  the  expence;  that  they  ensnare  the  minds  of  the  young 
and  unwary,  and  divert  others,  who  may  be  industriously  dis- 
posed, from  a  due  regard  to  those  commendable  ^•irtues  to  which 
the  welfare  of  the  colony  may  be  justly  attributed,  and  which  are 
evidentlv  necessary  to  render  them  good  and  useful  members  of 
society.  That  the  House,  therefore,  beg  leave  earnestly  to  en- 
treat your  Honor  to  exert  your  authority  to  discourage  and  put 
an  end  to  those  performances,  which  can  answer  no  good  purpose, 
but  manifestlv  tend  to  the  impoverishment  of  many  and  to  destroy 
those  principles  of  frugality,  industry,  and  virtue  upon  which  the 
future  prosperity  of  the  Province  essentially  depends."  This  was 
prepared  by  a  committee  consisting  of  Thomas  Livezey,  Fox, 
Pemberton,  Rodman,  and  Ashbridge.  The  Governor  replied  that 
he  would  consider  it,  and  "act  agreeable  to  his  judgment  without 
regard  to  persons  or  parties."  At  this  very  period,  although  a 
law  of  the  province  had  prohibited  lotteries,  it  was  usual  to  raise 
money  for  church  building  by  a  lottery  specially  authorized  by  an 
act  of  Assembly,  until  the  Assembly  on  January  26,  1769,  voted 
to  receive  no  more  petitions  for  such  acts,  and  recommended  to 
succeeding  Assemblies  that  no  future  lotteries  be  authorized  ex- 
cept for  the  uses  of  the  province;  and  this  remaining  chance  for 
having  one  take  place  was  destroyed  by  the  King  on  March  6  of 
that  year,  when,  by  advice  of  the  Privy  Council,  although  he  al- 
lowed an  act  for  so  raising  5,250/.  to  purchase  a  public  landing 
and  clean  the  streets  of  Philadelphia,  he  ordered  the  Governor  on 
no  i)retense  whatever  to  give  consent  to  any  future  act  for  raising 

558 


Attempt  to  Change  tlie  Government 

Slims  nt  minic'N'  in  llial  \\;i\-  willinul  ])re\i()usly  writing'  to  ascer- 
tain the  royal  pleasure  concerning  it. 

In  the  beginning  of  1767  the  British  Ministry  were  prepared 
to  allow  a  repeal  of  the  act  of  Parliament  preventing  the  paper 
money  of  the  colonies  from  being  a  legal  tender.  Tt  was  planned 
to  make  the  interest  arising  from  the  loans  on  which  the  bills  were 
issued  a  revenue  disposable  by  Parliament,  but  Franklin  assured 
those  who  suggested  this  that  no  colony  would  make  money  on 
those  terms:  the  Assemblies  would  never  establish  such  funds  as 
to  make  themselves  unnecessary  to  government.  Pennsylvania 
standing-  in  a  better  liglit  before  the  House  of  Commons  than  other 
colonies.  Franklin  suggested  to  the  merchants  engaged  in  Amer- 
ican trade  that  a  petition  which  he  had  drawn  might  be  sent  in 
for  the  repeal  of  the  act  so  far  as  Pennsylvania  money  was  con- 
cerned, and  this,  being  passed  in  a  humor  to  discriminate  against 
the  other  colonies,  could  afterwards  be  used  as  a  precedent  when 
the  resentment  should  subside.  Tlie  merchants,  although  willing 
that  those  trading  to  Philadelphia  should  do  as  they  pleased,  were 
rather  averse  to  this,  and  the  matter  was  temporarily  dropped. 

The  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  October  17,  1767,  wrote  to  the 
agents  of  the  province  in  London,  requesting  them  to  give  the 
earliest  intelligence  of  every  new  measure  or  regulation  proposed 
or  to  be  proposed  in  Parliament  whereby  the  liberties  of  America 
in  general  or  of  this  province  might  in  the  least  be  affected  or  con- 
cerned, and  to  accede  to  or  oppose  it  as  they  should  think  it  bene- 
ficial or  iniurious.  The  instructions  also  involved  the  prosecu- 
tion of  the  movement  to  change  the  government  of  Pennsylvania, 
in  case  the  charter  and  legal  rights  and  privileges  of  the  Assem- 
])\y  could  be  ])reser\ed  ;  also  the  api)lication.  on  the  passing  away 
of  all  danger  of  the  American  Asseml)lies  being  deprived  of  the 
right  of  issuing  bills  of  credit,  for  a  repeal  of  the  statute  forbid- 
ding said  bills  from  being  a  legal  tender  in  Colony  debts;  also 
perseverance  when  judicious  in  the  effort  to  procure  the  liberty  of 
importing  wine,  fruit,  and  oil  directly  from  Portugal  instead  of 

559 


Pennsvlvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

through  England;  also  an  effort  to  reHeve  sugar  from  the  British 
West  Indies  imported  into  Pennsylvania  and  thence  sent  to  Eng- 
land from  the  duties  laid  upon  Erench  sugars,  as  had  been  or- 
dered by  a  recent  statute. 

In  1767,  surveyors  named  Mason  and  Dixon  ran  the  final 
boundary  line  between  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  a  line  des- 
tined to  become  very  important  in  the  history  of  the  United  States 
as  marking  the  cleavage  between  free  soil  and  the  sla\'e  States. 
All  to  the  south  of  it  came  to  be  known  as  Dixie. 

In  1767,  Parliament,  acting  upon  the  principle  which  it  had 
affirmed  of  its  right  "to  bind  the  colonies  in  all  cases  whatsoever," 
levied  duties  on  paper,  glass,  etc.,  payable  in  America  on  the  im- 
portation of  those  articles.  In  November  appeared  the  first  of 
the  "Letters  from  a  Farmer  in  Pennsylvania  to  the  Inhabitants  of 
the  British  colonies,"  the  authorship  of  which  gave  John  Dickin- 
son so  much  of  his  celebrity.  They  were  republished  in  every 
colony,  also  in  London,  and  afterwards,  translated  into  French, 
in  Paris.  Dr.  Franklin,  Dickinson's  former  enemy,  wrote  the  pre- 
face to  the  London  edition ;  while  the  people  of  Boston  in  a  towai 
meeting  voted  their  thanks.  The  Farmer's  Letter  No.  I  began : 
"My  Dear  Countrymen.  I  am  a  farmer,  settled,  after  a  variety 
of  fortunes,  near  the  banks  of  the  river  Delaware,  in  the  province 
of  Pennsylvania.  I  received  a  liberal  education,  and  have  been 
engaged  in  the  busy  scenes  of  life;  but  am  now  convinced  that  a 
man  may  be  as  happy  without  bustle  as  with  it.  My  farm  is 
small ;  my  servants  are  few  and  good ;  I  have  a  little  money  at 
interest;  I  wnsh  for  no  more;  my  employment  in  my  own  affairs 
is  easy ;  and  with  a  contented,  grateful  mind,  undisturbed  by 
worldly  hopes  or  fears,  relating  to  myself,  I  am  completing  the 
number  of  days  allotted  to  me  by  Divine  goodness."  As  every 
man  ought  to  espouse  the  sacred  cause  of  liberty  to  the  extent  of 
his  powers,  he  offered  some  thoughts  on  late  transactions,  praying 
tliat  his  lines  might  be  read  with  the  same  zeal  for  the  happiness 
of  British  America  with  which  they  had  been  written.     He  had 

560 


Attempt  to  Change  the  Government 

observed  thai  little  notice  had  been  taken  of  the  Act  of  Parliament 
for  suspendin.i;-  the  legislation  of  Xew  York.  This  was  punish- 
ment tor  non-comi^liance  by  the  Assembly  of  that  province  with 
a  former  act  requiring-  certain  provisions  to  be  made  for  the 
troops.     To  compel  the  colonies  to  furnish  articles  for  the  troops 


Upright  Spinning  Wheel 


Used  by  the  early   German   settlers.      From   the 
Danner  collection 


was.  he  proceeded  to  show,  but  taxation  in  another  form,  and 
New  ^'ork  was  1)eing  i)unished  for  resisting  such  taxation.  In 
Letter  ]L  the  Farmer  took  up  the  Act  granting  duties  on  paper, 
glass,  &c.,  which  he  deemed  a  most  dangerous  innovation  upon 
the  old  practice  of  imi)osing  duties  merely  for  the  regulation  of 
trade.  Parliament  had  a  right  to  regulate  the  trade  of  the  col- 
onies:   but  here  it  was  avowing  the  design  of  raising  revenues 


I -.^6 


S6i 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

from  America:  a  rif;lu.  wliicli,  America  felt,  was  inherent  in  her 
own  representatives.  This  taxation  was  attempted  bv  the  device 
of  levying  duties  on  certain  articles  exported  to  the  colonies. 
Hie  effect  of  this  was  clearly  i)ointed  out.  Great  Britain  had 
prohibited  certain  manufactures  in  the  colonies,  and  had  pro- 
hibited the  purchase  of  such  manufactured  goods  except  from 
the  ]\Iother  Country.  "If  you  once  admit  that  Great  Britain 
may  lay  duties  u])()n  her  ex])ortations  to  us,  for  the  purpose  of 
levying  money  on  us  only,  she  then  will  have  nothing  to  do  but 
to  lay  thcKse  duties  on  the  articles  which  she  prohibits  us  to  manu- 
facture— and  the  tragedy  of  American  liberty  is  finished."  It 
would  be  taxing  the  articles  wherever  used.  Ami  it  made  no 
difference  whether  the  duties  w-ere  to  be  paid  in  England  or 
America.  In  Letter  III.  the  Farmer  explained  that  there  were 
other  modes  of  resistance  to  oppression  than  any  breach  of  the 
peace,  and  deprecated,  as  Dickinson  did  ever  afterwards,  any 
attempt  to  make  the  colonies  independent.  "If  once  we  are  sep- 
arated from  our  mother  country,  what  new  form  of  government 
shall  we  adopt,  or  where  shall  we  find  another  Britain,  to  supply 
our  loss.  Torn  from  the  body  to  which  we  are  united  by  religion, 
liberty.  laws,  affections,  relation,  language,  and  commerce,  we 
must  bleed  at  every  vein."  In  the  subsequent  letters,  the  dangers 
to  American  lil)erty  were  expatiated  upon,  the  objections  an- 
swered, and  the  people  urged  to  make  a  stand  for  themselves  and 
their  posterity  peaceably,  prudently,  firmly,  jointly.  "You  are 
assigned  by  Divine  Providence,  in  the  appointed  order  of  things 
the  protectors  of  unborn  ages,  whose  fate  depends  upon  your 
virtue,  \\diether  they  shall  arise  the  generous  and  indisputable 
heirs  of  the  noblest  patrimonies  or  the  dastardly  and  hereditary 
drudges  of  imperious  taskmasters,  you  must  determine." 

In  December,  Sir  William  Johnson  feared  an  immediate  rup- 
ture with  the  Indians,  and  Gage  offered  Penn  the  assistance  of 
troops  for  the  civil  ofificers  who  might  undertake  the  removal  and 
punishment  of  the  intruders  of  whom  the  Indians  complained. 

562 


Attempt  to  Change  the  Government 

Penn  explained  that  in  the  severity  of  winter  it  was  impractical)le 
to  ol)hg-e  tlie  people  to  move  trr)m  Red  Stone  creek  and  Cheat 
river  to  the  interior  ])arts  of  l'enns}l\ania.  and  it  was  nnadvisahle 
to  attempt  it  l)efore  the  spring.  The  Asseml)ly.  heing  appealed 
to  by  Penn  for  a  better  law  and  an  appropriation  to  remove  the 
intruders,  inxitcd  George  Croghan  and  Dixon,  the  surveyor,  be- 
fore them.  The  testimony  of  Croghan  given  January  7.  1768. 
was  that  last  September  the  Six  Nations  informed  Sir  William 
Johnson  that  the  Senecas  were  greatly  dissatisfied  because  the 
boundary  agreed  upon  three  years  before  had  not  been  confirmed, 
and  the  lands  on  the  side  next  to  the  colonies  not  paid  for.  while 
A'irginians  had  settled  upon  those  lands,  and  nineteen  Seneca 
warriors  had  been  killed  \vhcn  on  tlieir  wa\'  to  figlu  tlie  Chero- 
kees.  The  Senecas  intended  to  la}-  their  complaints  before  a 
meeting  of  the  Delawares.  Shawanees.  Chippewas.  Potowotamies. 
and  Tawas,  at  which  it  was  designed  to  f(^rm  a  confederacy  be- 
tween the  northern  and  western  Indians.  The  Senecas  had  com- 
])lained.  although  not  recently,  of  the  Conestoga  murder:  they 
were  a  revengeful  peo])]e.  The  Assembly,  expressing  a  willing- 
ness to  pass  the  bill  desired,  in  ri  message  suggested  that  the  In- 
dians remembered  the  Conestoga  murder,  and  might  feel  better 
disposed  towards  this  province  if  the  murderers  should  be  brought 
to  justice,  and  urged  that  the  boundar}-  line  of  the  white  man's 
country  be  speedily  established,  and  so  far  from  the  present  set- 
tlements as  to  give  a  region  for  the  frontiersmen  to  settle  and 
Inmt  in  with  ini])unil\-.  After  sa\'ing  this,  the  Assembly  was 
vindicated  In-  the  receipt  of  a  letter  from  Sir  William  johns(^n  to 
Galloway  acknowledging  that  the  murder  of  the  Conest(^gas.  still 
fresh  in  the  memor\-  of  the  Indians,  was  giving  tlieni  nnicli  pain. 
and  suggesting  that  the  province  make  them  some  present  on  ac- 
count of  it  at  the  coming  congress.  Accordingly  3.000/.  were 
raised  for  removing  their  ])resent  discontent.  ]\[eanwhile.  on 
January  lo.  1 7O8.  b'rcderick  Stump,  of  German  descent.  l)eing 
visited  at  his  house  bv  ti\e  drunken   Indians,  put  tlu*m  to  death 

563 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

after  endeavoring-  in  vain  tn  induce  llieni  to  ^o  awaw  and  the 
next  day.  to  cover  up  his  action,  went  to  two  ca1)ins  fourteen  miles 
off.  and  killed  the  woman,  two  t^'irls,  and  child  whom  he  found 
there,  and,  concealing-  the  l3odies  in  the  cabins,  burned  those  down. 
Stump  and  the  boy  in  his  employ,  who  had  actuallv  killed  one 
woman,  were  arrested,  but  about  eighty  persons  with  arms  and 
tomahawks  forcibly  rescued  them  out  of  the  jail  at  C'arlisle.  giv- 
ing as  a  reason  that  a  number  of  white  men  had  been  killed  by 
Indians  since  the  peace,  and  the  latter  had  not  been  brought  to 
justice.  An  act  was  passed  on  February  3.  making  the  settling 
on  land  not  purchased  by  the  Proprietaries  from  the  Indians  pun- 
ishable with  death.  A  very  important  provision  was  that  the  of- 
fense should  be  triable  in  Philadelphia. 

In  long  messages  the  Assembly  blamed  Governor  Penn  for 
the  supineness  of  the  magistrates,  they  being  his  appointees,  in 
the  disorders  on  the  frontier,  and  said  that  it  was  an  easy  step 
from  the  murder  of  Indians  to  the  murder  of  the  King's  subjects, 
and  triumphantly  expressed  the  conviction  that  "the  powers  of 
government  vested  in  the  feeble  hands  of  a  Proprietary  Governor 
are  too  weak  to  support  order  in  the  province  or  give  safety  to  the 
people." 

On  February  20,  the  Assembly  requested  the  agents  in  Lon- 
don to  co-operate  with  those  of  other  colonies  if  they  should  make 
application  for  a  repeal  of  the  duties  on  paper,  glass,  etc.  This 
was  before  the  arrival  of  the  circular  letter  from  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  Massachusetts. 

During  the  spring,  after  various  conferences,  among  others 
one  by  Croghan  at  Fort  Pitt  with  many  chiefs  and  chief  warriors 
of  the  Six  Nations.  Delawares,  Shawanees,  Muncys,  and  Mo- 
hicans, in  all  1,103  nien,  w^omen,  and  children,  the  Indians  were 
duly  appeased  with  explanations  and  presents. 

On  July  30,  1768,  a  meeting  of  citizens  at  the  State  House  in 
Philadelphia  adopted  resolutions  against  im])orting  any  of  the 
goods  subject  to  duty  1)y  the  recent  act  of  Parliament.     After- 

564 


Attempt  to  Change  the  Government 

wards  arrived  the  Karl  of  Hillsl)nn.ui,di's  letter  to  Governor  Penn. 
dated  April  21.  informino:  him  that  King  George  III  considered 
the  letter  of  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  Mas- 
sachusetts to  l)e  of  a  most  dangerous  and  factious  tendaicv,  and 
that  the  Governor  should  exert  his  inthience  to  prevail  upon  the 
Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  to  take  no  notice  of  it.  and  that  the 
repeated  proofs  which  that  body  had.  given  of  "reverence  to  the 
Constitution"  left  little  doubt  of  its  showing  a  proper  resentment 
to  this  attempt  to  revive  distractions;  but  if  there  should  appear 
a  disposition  to  give  any  countenance  to  the  paper,  it  would  be  the 
Governor's  duty  immediately  to  prorogue  or  dissolve  the  House. 
Penn,  starting  for  Fort  Stanwix  to  assist  in  the  treaty  there,  left 
this  letter  for  the  guidance  of  the  Assembly,  about  to  meet  in  his 
absence.  The  Assembly  on  September  16  resolved  that  the  Gov- 
ernor had  no  authority  to  prorogue  or  dissolve,  and  it  was  the 
undoubted  right  of  the  Assembly  to  correspond  with  any  of  the 
.\merican  colonies  to  obtain  by  decent  petitions  to  the  King  and 
Parliament  redress  of  any  grievances.  On  the  20th.  a  petition  to 
the  King,  and  the  next  day  one  to  the  House  of  Lords  and  another 
to  the  House  of  Commons  were  agreed  to.  These  paraphrased 
in  softer  language,  and  adapted  to  the  locality  the  letter  from 
Massachusetts.  That  to  the  King  spoke  of  the  settlement  of 
Pennsylvania  when  a  wilderness  with  a  view  of  enjoying  that 
liberty  civil  and  religious  of  which  the  petitioners"  ancestors  were 
in  a  great  measure  deprived  in  their  native  land,  and  also  to  ex- 
tend the  British  empire,  increase  its  commerce,  and  promote  its 
wealth  and  ])ower.  With  inexpressible  labor,  toil,  and  expense, 
and  without  assistance  from  the  Alother  Country,  that  wilderness 
had  been  peopled,  planted,  and  improved.  It  was  conceived  that 
b\-  no  act  had  the  people  surrendered  up  or  forfeited  their  rights 
and  liljerties  as  natural  l>orn  subjects  of  the  British  government: 
but  those  rights  had  l)een  brought  over  and  were  vested  In-  inher- 
itance. The  duties  and  taxes  for  the  sole  purpose  of  raising  rev- 
enue imposed  bv  Parliament  upon  the  Americans,  thev  not  being 

565 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

represented  in  that  body,  and  beint;-  taxa])lc  onK-  l)v  tlicniselves  or 
their  representatives,  were  destrnctive  of  those  rights  and  with- 
out precedent  until  the  passing  of  the  late  Stamp  Act.  When- 
ever the  King  or  his  royal  predecessors  had  had  occasion  for  aids 
to  defend  and  secure  the  colonies,  requisitions  had  been  made  upon 
the  Pennsylvania  Assemblies,  "who  ever  with  the  utmost  cheer- 
fulness and  loyalty  have  granted  them,"  said  the  petition,  "and 
often  so  liberally  as  to  exceed  the  abilities  and  circumstances  of 
the  people."  The  people  of  this  colony  were  most  zealously  at- 
tached to  the  King's  royal  person.  Under  a  grateful  sense  of  his 
care  and  regard  for  them  so  often  manifested,  the  petitioners 
begged  him  to  take  the  premises  into  consideration,  and  grant 
such  relief  as  to  him  should  appear  most  proper.  The  Lords  Spir- 
itual and  Temporal,  "hereditary  guardians  of  British  liberty," 
were  told  that  the  people  of  the  province,  gratefully  sensible  of 
their  lordships'  w'isdom  and  justice  in  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp 
Act,  had  hoped  to  enjoy  in  all  future  time  the  right  of  granting 
aids  to  the  Crown  by  their  own  representatives,  and  were  greatly 
disappointed  by  an  act  imposing  new  duties,  equally  subversive 
of  this  right  and  tending  to  render  their  property  most  precarious 
and  insecure.  It  was  essential  to  the  liberties  of  Englishmen  that 
no  laws  be  made  to  take  away  their  property  without  their  con- 
sent, and  it  was  hoped  that  their  lordships  would  not  think  any 
reasons  sufficient  to  deprive  the  King's  subjects  in  this  colony  of 
the  privilege,  so  essential  to  their  security  and  happiness,  of  dis- 
posing- of  their  own  property,  and  granting  aids  by  their  repre- 
sentatives in  Assembly.  Therefore,  they  prayed  for  such  meas- 
ures as  their  lordships  should  think  most  proper  to  relicA-e  them. 
The  petition  to  the  knights,  citizens,  and  burgesses  of  Great  Brit- 
ain in  Parliament  assembled  repeated  what  had  been  set  forth  to 
the  King,  and  said  that  should  Parliament  continue  to  exercise  a 
power  of  imposing  taxes  upon  the  King's  subjects  not,  nor  ever 
able  to  be,  represented  in  the  House,  their  property  and  estates 
must  become  extremelv  precarious,  as  thev  would  ha^■e  no  power 

566  ■ 


Attempt  to  Change  the  Government 

of  judging"  of  the  ])ropriety  of  tlie  taxes,  no  check  on  the  HberaHty 
in  granting  them,  no  opportunity  of  pointing  out  the  easiest  mode 
of  imposing  and  levying  them,  or  of  explaining  grievances,  with- 
out which  it  was  impossible  for  the  most  wise  and  just  legislature 
to  impose  taxes  with  propriety  and  equity  or  with  safety  to  those 
affected  by  them.  Finally  relief  was  prayed  for  the  Americans 
against  a  grievance  from  which  the  people  of  Great  Britain  were 
exempted,  a  continuance  whereof  would,  it  was  feared,  create  a 
distinction  which  must  occasion  a  disunion  of  interest,  sentiments, 
and  affections  attended  with  inconveniences  and  mischiefs  to  the 
trade  and  commerce  of  the  British  as  well  as  American  dominions. 
A  letter  to  the  agents  in  London  explained  that  the  petitions  had 
said  nothing  about  the  expediency  of  the  taxes  as  distinguished 
from  the  right  to  levy  them.  \\"ere  it  constitutional,  the  present 
law  was  injurious  to  the  ■Mother  Country  as  well  as  to  America. 
The  colonies  were  prohibited  by  several  acts  of  Parliament  from 
importing  the  manufactures  of  Europe  except  Great  Britain.  If 
the  heavy  duties  were  continued,  the  Americans  would  from  ne- 
cessity, interest,  or  convenience,  set  up  manufactories,  and  cease 
from  supplying  their  wants  in  the  articles  enumerated  from  Eng- 
land :  so  that,  instead  of  the  colonies  being  left  "to  their  natural 
and  proper  business,  the  improvement  and  cultivation  of  their 
lands,  and  of  course  increasing  the  demand  for  British  commodi- 
ties," the  duty  would  operate  as  a  bounty  to  manufacture  the  ar- 
ticles, to  the  great  loss  of  the  British  merchant  and  manufacturer. 
Another  objection,  equally  applicable  to  acts  laying  duties  merely 
for  the  regulation  of  trade,  was  that  the  duties  were  to  be  paid 
in  silver,  which  would  soon  make  it  impossible  to  pay  them  at  all. 
and  hence  must  prohibit  importation.  A  third  objection  was  the 
application  of  the  revenue  to  the  administration  of  justice  and 
support  of  civil  government.  Should  the  Proprietaries  continue 
to  retain  the  appointment  of  the  Governor  and  his  salarv  be  fixed, 
he  would  be  rendered  altogether  independent  of  the  people:  and 
the  payment  of  salaries  to  judges  holding  commissions  at  the 

567 


Pennsvivania  Colonial  and  Federal 


pleasure  of  the  rroprielaries.  the  unixcrsal  landlords  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, would  be  attended  with  mischiefs  obviated  in  Eni^land  bv 
the  judi^-es  bein^q-  commissioned  durin*;-  good  behavior  and  holding- 
for  life.  Furthermore  the  revenue  was  to  be  applied  for  these 
purposes  in  such  colonies  where  it  should  be  thought  necessary. 
Thus  Pennsylvanians  would  pay  without  their  consent  taxes 
which  might  be  applied  to  the  use  of  other  colonies. 


Old-fashioned  German  Shaving  Dish 

Photographed  especially   for  this  work  by  J.   F. 
Sachse 

At  a  general  congress  at  Fort  Stan\\ix  held  b}-  Sir  William 
Johnson  with  the  Six  Nations  and  the  Delawares  and  Shawanees 
in  October,  1768,  Governor  Penn  being  present,  a  general  bound- 
ary line  between  those  tribes  and  the  middle  colonies  was  estab- 
lished, and  there  was  sold  to  the  Proprietaries  of  Pennsylvania 
most  of  the  central  and  all  the  western  end  of  the  present  State 
excepting  the  small  strip  along  Lake  Erie.  They  paid  10.000 
dollars  for  this,  and  200  dollars  to  a  Cayug"a  chief  to  be  distril)- 
uted   to   those  representing  Sohaes   murdered    in    the  Lancaster 

568 


Attempt  to  Change  the  Government 

work-house  in  1763  for  their  pretended  claim  to  500  acres  in 
Conestoga  manor.  Certain  tracts  within  the  vast  re.gion  were 
allotted  to  the  niemhers  o\  the  \arious  reg'iments  in  the  Proxincial 
service.  As  a  precaution  against  the  return  of  the  Connecticut 
claimants,  there  was  surveyed  for  the  Proprietaries  at  Wyoming 
the  manor  of  Stoke,  comprising  9.800  acres,  with  d  per  cent, 
allowance.  u\)nn  the  southeast  side  of  the  North  East  branch  of 
the  Susquehanna  extending  about  equally  alx)ve  and  below  the 
mouth  of  Moses's  Creek.  \Vithin  this  manor  Charles  Stewart 
induced  Benjamin  Shoemaker,  John  Van  Campen.  and  others  t(~> 
take  land.  therel)y,  as  was  supposed,  strengthening  the  Proprie- 
tary side  in  the  county. 

Almost  the  first  act  of  the  Assembly  elected  in  ]j()H  was  to 
order  Doctor  Franklin  to  purchase  at  a  cost  of  not  o\er  100/. 
sterling  a  reflecting  telescope  with  a  micrometer  for  observing 
the  transit  of  \'enus  the  y\  of  June  following.  On  February  10. 
1769.  100/.  were  granted  to  the  American  Philosophical  Society 
towards  (lefra\"ing  the  expense  of  the  observation. 

On  January  4.  1769.  a  considerable  number  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Rucks  county  asked  the  Assembly  to  issue  paper  monc\-  in  the 
old  method  upon  mr)rtgage  of  real  estate,  and  promised  to  use  it 
although  it  could  not  be  legal  tender.  Similar  petitions  followed 
from  the  city  and  county  of  Philadelphia,  from  Piucks.  Chester, 
Lancaster.  York,  and  Berks.  The  House  on  the  19th.  unani- 
mously resolved  that  long  experience  had  manifested  that  the 
emissions  of  bills  of  credit  theretofore  made  on  loans  to  the  people 
had  answered  the  purposes  of  a  circulating  medium,  greatly  pro- 
moted the  settlement  of  the  colony,  and  increased  its  trade  and 
commerce  as  well  foreign  as  domestic,  and  that  a  further  quan- 
tity issued  on  proper  and  solid  funds  was  necessary.  A  bill  was 
prepared  for  striking  the  sum  of  120.000/.  in  bills  of  credit  to  be 
emitted  on  loan,  but  it  failed  to  become  a  law  because  the  Gov- 
ernor insisted  upon,  among  other  things,  a  voice  in  the  disposition 
of  the  interest  arising,  antl  u[)on  naming  half  of  the  trustees  of  the 

569 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal 

loan  office.  Accordiiii^i)-  no  further  issue  of  paper  monev  was 
authorized  until  Feb.  26,  1773,  when  Lieutenant-Governor  Rich- 
ard Penn  liad  the  seal  affixed  to  an  act  to  emit  150.000/.  in  bills 
of  credit  on  loan. 

The  merchants  of  Philadelphia  adopted  non-importation  reso- 
lutions in  1769  similar  to  the  celebrated  as^reement  of  1765.  The 
iirst  case  infringing'  these  was  the  arrival  of  a  ship  laden  with 
malt  in  July.  .\t  a  public  meeting,  at  which  the  brewers  of  the 
city  attended,  and  declared  that  they  would  not  use  it.  a  resolution 
was  passed  that  no  one  should  purchase  or  assist  in  handling  it; 
so  the  vessel  returned  to  England  with  its  cargo. 

The  Suscjuehanna  company,  availing  itself  of  the  withdrawal 
of  the  Indians,  and  there  ceasing  to  be  any  occasion  for  the  inter- 
ference of  Sir  William  Johnson,  determined  to  prosecute  its  claims 
with  vigor.  At  a  meeting  held  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  Dec. 
28,  1768,  it  was  voted  that  forty  persons  upwards  of  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  proprietors  in  the  purchase,  and  approved  by  certain 
commissioners,  proceed  to  take  possession  by  the  ist  of  February, 
and  two  hundred  more  by  the  ist  of  May;  that  200/.  be  appro- 
priated for  materials  and  provisions  for  said  forty ;  that  five  town- 
ships be  laid  out  each  of  five  miles  square,  three  townships  on  one 
side  of  the  Susquehanna  River,  and  two  opposite  them,  the  forty 
persons  first  coming  to  choose  a  township,  which  should  be  di- 
vided among  them  in  addition  to  their  shares  in  the  rest  of  the 
company's  property,  the  two  hundred  persons  coming  in  the  spring 
to  receive  the  four  other  townships  in  addition  to  their  shares, 
three  shares  in  each  township  tO'  be  set  apart  for  a  Gospel  minister 
and  schools,  the  grant  of  the  holdings  to  be  conditioned  upon  oc- 
cupation and  improvement  for  five  years,  and  upon  good  behavior, 
and  upon  not  holding  any  part  of  the  company's  land  under  pre- 
tense of  any  other  title  than  the  company's.  All  iron  and  coal 
were  reserved  for  after  disposal.  Isaac  Tripp,  Benjamin  Follett, 
John  Jenkins,  William  Buck,  and  Benjamin  Shoemaker  were  to 
superintend  the  affairs  of  the  forty  first  coming,  including  the 

570 


Attempt  to  Change  the  Government 

laving-  out  of  a  road  to  the  Susquelianna  river;  and  upon  the  ar- 
rival of  the  whole  two  hundred  persons,  they  might  increase 
this  latter  committee  to  nine,  who  sh«')uld  then  regulate  the  affairs 
of  the  settlers  until  further  order,  with  power  with  the  cruisent  of 
a  majority  of  the  settlers  voting  at  a  meeting  to  expel  and  declare 
forfeited  the  right  of  any  person  among  them  for  disorderly  Ije- 
havior  or  being  inconsistent  with  the  good  and  interest  of  the 
company,  unless  the  company  on  appeal  should  otherwise  deter- 
mine. More  than  the  forty  persons  w-ere  induced  to  set  out  with 
William  Buck,  who  had  been  a  member  of  the  previous  settle- 
ment:  and  they  arrived  at  Nicholas  Dupue's  in  the  Minisink  re- 
gion by  Saturday,  February  4,  whence  they  were  to  start  for 
Wyoming  on  February  6.  Charles  Stewart  and  John  Jennings, 
the  sheriff  of  Northampton,  were  at  the  latter  place  with  a  very 
few  of  the  tenants  of  the  manor,  and  wrote  to  Lewis  Gordon,  a 
iustice,  for  warrants  of  arrest,  and  to  John  Penn  for  further  or- 
ders. On  Gordon's  warrants.  Jennings  arrested  Isaac  Tripp. 
A'ine  Elderkin.  and  Benjamin  Folfett.  who  with  over  thirty,  most 
of  them  armed,  arrived  before  the  12th.  Their  companions  de- 
clared that  they  would  go  back.  Gordon  bxuid  over  the  three 
to  keep  the  peace.  The  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  wrote  to  the 
Governor  of  Connecticut:  "...  The  consequence  there- 
fore of  these  deluded  People's  persisting  in  their  unwarrantable 

designs  must  be  a  scene  of  violence I  can  not  suppose 

that  the  government  of  Connecticut  will  encourage  a  procedure  so 
unreasonable  and  illegal  .  .  .  and  it  is  under  this  expecta- 
tion that  I  now  apply  to  your  Honor.  .  .  ."  When,  in 
March,  Jennings  proceeded  with  a  posse  to  Lachnawanack  to  de- 
mand peaceable  possession  of  the  land  there,  he  found  two  houses 
built,  one  of  them  being  a  strong  log  house  for  defence,  and  the 
intruders  ready  to  fight.  Attempting  to  seize  some  of  them. 
Jennings  was  struck  twice,  but.  having  forced  one  of  the  build- 
ings, and  taken  those  who  had  retired  to  it.  he  received  the  sur- 
render of  the  rest,   and   started   with   thirty-one   prisoners    for 


Pennsylvania  Colonial   and   Federal 

Easton.  Some  esca])e(l:  the  rest  found  l)ail.  On  May  12  one 
hundred  and  forty-six  New  England  men  and  others,  most  of  the 
company  being-  on  horseback,  passed  Charles  Stewart's  house,  and 
encamped  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  while  it  was  expected  that 
as  man}-  more  would  f()llow  the  next  day,  and  also  that  about  one 
hundred  persons  from  Lancaster  county,  headed  by  James  Mc- 
Clure,  would  cast  in  their  lot  with  them.  The  Proprietary  force 
at  hand  was  then  l)ut  twenty-four  men,  who  were  instructed  not 
to  shed  blood  with  such  overwhelming  force  against  them.  Gov- 
ernor Penn  wrote  to  Colonel  Francis  at  Augusta  that  to  eject 
such  numbers  would  require  too  large  a  body  for  the  Proprie- 
taries to  go  to  the  expense  of  raising;  all  that  could  be  done  was 
to  retain  what  possessions  their  people  had,  in  which  those  dwell- 
ing- at  Shamokin  might  be  of  assistance,  and  to  prevent  if  possible 
any  Pennsylvanians  from  joining  the  New  Englanders.  Francis 
led  sixty  men  to  Wyoming,  and  on  June  22  demanded  a  surren- 
der, but  as  at  least  twenty  strong  log  houses  with  loop  holes  for 
guns  had  been  built,  he  withdraw  without  further  hostilities.  An 
agreement  made  at  Easton  that  the  New  Englanders  would  leave, 
is  mentioned  in  a  letter  from  Governor  Penn  of  August  24,  as 
broken :  the  writs  against  those  indicted  were  to  be  executed.  In 
September,  some  of  those  who  had  been  bound  over  for  trial  were 
convicted,  and  condemned  to  pay  each  a  fine  of  10/.  and  costs. 
In  November,  Amos  and  Nathan  Ogden  brought  two  hundred 
persons  with  a  cannon  to  arrest  those  indicted  for  forcible  entry. 
Then  a  compromise  was  effected  and  embodied  in  a  written  agree- 
ment reciting  the  expense  upon  those  indicted  of  standing  trial 
and  the  hardship  of  their  going  to  jail  if  they  could  not  get  bail, 
and  the  desire  of  all  parties  to  prevent  shedding  of  blood  and  fu- 
ture quarrels  between  the  tenants  and  purchasers  settled  at  Susque- 
hanna under  the  Proprietaries,  and  those  claiming  under  the  Sus- 
quehanna company  or  Connecticut  grant ;  therefore  it  was  agreed 
between  John  Jennings.  Amos  Ogden,  and  Charles  Stewart,  on 
behalf  of  the  Pr()[)rietaries,  and  John  Smith  and  Stephen  Gardner, 

572 


Attempt  to  Chani^c  the  Government 

on  Ijelialf  of  the  Sus(|iielianna  Land  C<)ni])any,  tliat  the  fort  and 
l)uil(h'n_e^s  and  honses  l)e  immechately  dehvercd  to  Jennings.  Og-den. 
and  Stewart,  and  that  all  ])ei)i)le  then  at  Wyoming  claiming  under 
or  in  conjunction  with  the  Connecticut  men  depart  in  tliree  days, 
except  fourteen  men  who  should  dwell  in  six  <»t  the  houses  or 
apartments  in  the  fort  with  their  wives  and  cliililrcn  until  a  Royal 
order  declaring  the  title  he  received,  by  which  both  parties  bound 
themselves  to  abide;  meanwhile  not  more  than  five  strangers  of 
tlie  Susquehanna  Company  be  entertained,  and  they  not  longer 
than  three  days  at  a  time,  and  that  until  said  order  or  decree  be 
made  known  the  fort,  houses,  etc..  1)e  enjoyed  l)y  the  settlers  and 
jiurchasers  under  the  Proprietaries.  This  was  dated  November 
14,  1769.  Stephen  Gardner  was  among  those  allowed  to  remain. 
The  arrangement  did  not  result  in  permanent  peace.  Injuries 
and  re])risals  continually  embrc^iled  the  parses,  the  fourteen  being 
at  times  assisted  l)y  various  visitors  or  settlers  not  from  Xew 
England  onlv  l)ut  from  other  parts  of  Pennsylvania.  There  was 
a  general  complaint  among  the  inhabitants  of  Lebanon  and  Han- 
over townships.  Lancaster  county,  if  not  elsewhere,  as  to  the  con- 
duct of  the  Proprietaries'  land  agents.  The  ill  feeling  among  the 
frontiersmen  who  for  years  had  felt  themsehes  badly  treated  by 
the  government  was  turned  to  jealousy  when  the  officers  of  North- 
ampton county  introduced  persons  from  New  Jersey  to  wage  war 
upon  the  people  at  Wvoming.  for  war  was  what  the  execution  of 
the  court's  writs  involved.  Major  Jolm  Ourkee.  the  leading  man 
in  one  of  the  settlements,  was  indicted  by  the  Penn.sylvania  court, 
and  taken  to  Easton  jail,  where  he  remained  two  years.  In  one 
of  the  struggles  for  the  possession  of  Fort  Durkee.  when  the  sher- 
iff had  brought  a  posse  of  eighty  men.  Nathan  Ogden  was  treach- 
erously shot  by  Lazarus  Stewart,  who  had  been  a  participant  in 
the  murder  of  the  Indians  at  the  Lancaster  work-house  in  1  yf>T^. 
and  who.  having  brought  a  party  from  Hanover  to  drive  out  "the 
Jersey  people.  "  had  been  recently  twice  arrested  and  twice  res- 
cued.    Three  others  of  the  posse  were  wounded,  but  their  oppo- 

573 


Pennsylvania  Colonial  and   Federal 

ncnts  evacuated  the  fort  at  nii^htfall.  After  hearing"  of  this,  the 
Assembly,  which  loyally  supported  the  Proprietaries  in  this  dis- 
pute, recommended  a  reward  of  300/.  for  the  deliver}-  of  Lazarus 
Stewart  to  the  sheriff  of  Philadelphia  count}-,  and  on  February  9. 
1 77 1,  passed  an  act  for  preventing  tumults  and  riotous  assemblies 
and  for  the  more  speedy  and  effectual  punishing  of  the  rioters, 
niaking  the  penalty  death. 

In  1770,  Parliament  repealed  the  duties  on  glass,  etc.,  leaving 
that  upon  tea,  and  in  due  course  of  time,  despite  various  nieetings 
in  Philadelphia,  trade  was  resumed  with  England  except  in  tea, 
a  cargo  of  which  was  sent  back. 

Richard  Jackson  resigned  the  position  of  Agent  of  the  Prov- 
ince of  Pennsylvania  in  London  in  1770,  leaving  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin sole  aoent. 


574 


Ind 


ex 


Abercrombie,    Major-General    James.    48(' 
Acrod,  Benjamin,  299 

Act  appointing  agent  to  receive  money.   514 
appropriating    money,    451 
for    better    administration    of    justice. 

362 
for  collection  of  quit  rents,  354 
for  issue   of  bills  of  credit,   470 
for  relief  of  heirs,  etc.,   514 
for   re-emitting  bills  of  credit,   repeal 

of,    518 
for  suppression  of  rioting,   574 
granting   duties,    discussion   of.   561 
of   Assembly    for   recording   warrants. 

508 
of    parliament     proposed     relative     to 

Quakers,  455 
of  Union,  266 
to     punish     settlers     on     unpurchased 

land,    564 
to    tax    proprietary    estates,    rejection 
of,    457 
Acts  of  assembly,  passage  of  five,  332 
Adolphus.   Gustavus,  67;   death   of,  68 
Agreement    between    Risingh    and    Stuyves- 
ant,    106 

of     Proprietors,     194:     provisions    of. 
195,   196 
Agriculture  at  New  Sweden,  86 
Aix-la-Chapclle.    treaty    of,    411;    conditions 

of,    415 
Alarm,   a   false,   created,   356,   357 
.Mhany.  efforts  at.  to  disposses  Penn,  294 

fear  of  fur  trade  diversion   from.  2Q2 
meeting   of   congress   at.    334 
troops  for.  400 
Algonkian    Indians,   3-4 


.Mien,   Nathaniel,   217 

Samuel,  491 

William,  392,  512.  54; 
.Allison,   John,   492 
.\lrich.   Governor  Jacob,    113 
Alrich,  Peter,  275:    appointment  of  as  schout, 
160;  grant  of  land  to,   146;  permission  of, 
to  trade,   146;  servants  of,  killed,  151,  152 
Altona    (Altoona),    112 

.America    and    Great    Britain,    financial    rela- 
tions of,  554,  555 

the,  306 
American    liberties,    an.\iety    regarding.    559 
Amity,   arrival  of  the,  242 

sailing  of   the.    218 
Amsterdam,  purchase  of  claims  on   the    Mel- 
aware   by,    1 1 3 
Amherst,    Gen.    Jeffrey,    500;    answer    from. 

500:   arrival  of  in   Philadelphia.   504 
Andcrsson.   Peter,  death  of.  75 
.\ndries.   Lace,    162 
Andros,    Governor,    173:    administration    of, 

162;   visit  of,   to  the   Delaware,   161 
.Appeal   to   the   king,   454 
Appropriation    for  a   fort.   418 

for    Indian   pacification.   563 

ftir   defense   of   Louisburg.   399 

for   the    King,    390 

for  the   King's  use,  400,  442 

for   military    purposes,   433,    483 

for  the  Queen,  360,  361 

for  support  of   Indians,  428 

for   war  purposes,   427 
Appropriations    for    public    purposes.    451 

methoils  of  raising.   434 
.Arets.    I.cnart.    306 
Arg.ill.    faptain    Samuel.    39-4" 


575 


Index 


Arms,   requisition   for,   4S4 

Armour,    Thomas,    492 

Armstrong,   Col.   John,   460,   488 ;   expedition 
of,   531 

Major  Oeorge,   491 
William,   491 

Army  at   Will's  Creek,   supplies   for,  -432 
return    of,    to    Philadelphia,    49S 

Ashcorn,    Charles,    301 

Assembly,  action  of,  on  lotteries,   558 
act  of,   362 

act  of,  appropriating  money,   442 
act   for  issuing  bills  of  credit,   423 
act   for  recording  warrants,   508 
act   of,   granting   money,   483 
act  of,  to  prevent  rioting,  536 
act  of,  to  raise  money,  457,  465 
address    from,    554 
address  to,  by  Quakers,   449 
adjournment  of  the,   351 
and    Hamilton,    dispute    between,  412 
and    Morris,    difference    between    the, 

434 
a    new,    elected,    361 
appeal  of  the,  to   England,   434 
appeal  to,  for  aid,  448 
appeal   of,   for   defence,   408 
attempt   of,   to   raise   money,   540,    541 
bill    of,    for    issue    of   bills    of   credit, 

412 
bill  by,   to   raise   money,   460 
course  of,  in  war  with  France,  399 
dissatisfaction   with  acts  of,   534 
dissolution   of   the,    281 
encroachment  of,  upon  executive,  518 
electives   for   the,    547,    552,    553 
financial  measurers  of  the,  519 
first   meeting  of,   264,   265 
first   deputies  to,   265 
functions  of,  in   law  making.  320 
trrant   of  tax   by,   327 
inequality    in    the,    539 
instructions    of,     to     London     agents, 
559,    560 
<     Keith's  allegiance  to,  368 
letter   from,  to   London,   567 
letter   of  the,   to   London   agents,    559 
meeting  of,  at  New   Castle,   337 
membership  of,  407,  408 
military  act  of  the,  451,  452 
number   of   members   of,    275 


.Assembly,  passage  of  military  bill  by,  450 
petition   of,   to    England,    565 
policy  of,   with    Indians,   418 
privileges   of,    confirmed,    351 
proceedings  of,  on  bills  of  credit,  387 
qualifications    of    deputies,    267 
Quaker   control    in,    513,    514 
Quaker  influence  in,  390 
range   of   legislation    by,    277 
reply  of,   to   the   governor,   499 
reply  of,  466,  469 
resignation   of   members   of,   456 
rights  of,   501,   502 
second  meeting  of  the,   272,  273 
speaker  of  the  first,  274 
special    session    of   the,    357 
summoned  by  Penn,  337 
summoning    of,    332 
tax   levied   by,   338 
the   first,   263,   264 

Assemblies,     rights    of,     regarding    bills    of 
credit,   559 

Association   for  defence,  408,   535 
for  issuing  n6tes,   555 

Aston,    George,    491 

Atlee,    Samuel  J.,   491 

Athanasian  orthodoxy,   acceptance  of,   354 

Attack   upon   Fort   Duquesne,   439,   440 
upon    Kittanning,    460 

Attempt  to  change  the  government,   540-574 

Aughwick    and    Juniata,    defenseless    condi- 
tion  of,   447 

Augustus   church,    the,    511 

Balding,   Theo.,   301 

Bard,    Commissary    Peter,    491 

Barton,   Rev.   Thomas,  488 

Bay,  Rev.  Andrew,  491 

Baltimore,  Lord,  200,   201,  238,  239,  254 
application   of.   for  grant,   381 
boundary    troubles    with,    380-386 
fifth,   boundary    agreement    by,   382 
claims  of,  379 

genealogy   of,    238    foot   note 
land   purchase    by,   243 
meeting  of,   with    Penn,   270,   271 
petition   of,   to   the   king,   383 
return   of,   to    England,   383 

Bankson,  Andreas,  237 

Baptist    denomination,    cause    of    growth    of 
the,   316,    317 


576 


Index 


Barber,   John,    253 

Barclay,   Robert,    199;   apoloRy   of,   309 

Barents,   C'hristan,   death   of,    113 

Barker,    Wharton,    323 

Baronial    jurisdiction,    early,    513 

Bartholomew,   (ieorge,   landlord,   257 

Battery,    establishment    of,    408 

I'raiiklin's  lottery  for  a,   411 
Bayard,    Nicholas,   294 
Baynton,  John,   484 
Beatty,    Rev.   Charles,   480,   491 

Robert,  534 
Beazor,  John,  241 
Beekman,   William,   116,    117;   letter  of,   123; 

reports  of,    1 17 
Beginnings  of    I'enn's   Colony,   the,   236 
Beiigston,   Andreas,   275,   296 
Berkely,   Lord   John,    194 
Berks   county,    formation   of,    412 
Bernard,  Francis,  488 
Bethlehem,   Indian  outrages  near,   531 
Bezar,   John,   217 
Bienville,   Celeron   de,   416 
Biggs,   John,    265 
Biles,    William,    237,    273,    322,    492:    jailing 

of.   355;   prosecution   of,   353 
Bill   for  raising  money,   516 

for  taxation,  efforts  to  procure  a,  504 
Bills  of  credit,   387 

as  legal   tender,   554 

commended,    569 

conditions  necessary   to  issue  of,  518, 

5>9 

issue  of,   423,    570 

offer   to  issue,   400 

refusal   of   assembly   to    issue,    433 
I'inckes,    Jacob,    160 
I'ines,   Surgeon    Robert,   491 
Births  on   board   the   Welcome,   253 
Blackwell,    Capt.    John,    313;    opposition    to 
by  Quakers,   314;   relieved  as  deputy-gov- 
ernor,  315 
Blackwood,   John,   491 
Block,   Cai>tatn   Adrian.   40,   43 
Blue   Anchor  tavern,   the,   257 
Itlunston,   John,   288,   296,   343 

.Samuel,   proprietaries'    agent,    383 
Boarding-house,   charges  in    1682,   241 
Body  of  laws,  provisions  of,   266-270 
Boghardt,  Jost   de,   79 
Bonde,   Anders   Svensson.   sketch   of,    75 


Boumat,   Louis,   302 

Boundary    between     Connecticut    and     New 
York,    413 

between   Indians  and   the  middle   col- 
onies,   568 

between    Pennsylvania    and    Virginia, 
414 

claims,   early,   200 

difficulties,    the,    379-386 

disputes,    413,    414 

line,   details  of  the,   382 

line,   the    Maryland,    238 

question,    settlement    of,    413 

question,  \'irginia  interest  in  the,  414 

the   Connecticut,    413 
Bouquet's  army,  advance  of,   546 
Bovington,    Richard,    171 
Boyd,    Robert,   491 
Braddock,    Gen.     Edward,    390;    arrival    of, 

431;   death  of,  440;   burial  of,  441 
Braddock's   expedition,    435-441 

expedition,    letters   in   relation    to,  439 

forces,   division   of,   436,   439 

opinion   of   Indians.    436 

road,   repair  of,   492 
Brassey,    Thomas,    265 
Brick-making  at   Xew   Amstcl.    115 
Bringhurst.  John,   391 
British   Factor,  sailing  of  the,  218 
Bristow,  John,  315 
British   public,   prejudice   of,    540 

war  vessel,  appeal  for  a,  411 
Brockholls,   Capt.   Anthony,   236 
Brown,   James,    334 
Brule,    Etienne,    35-36 

Ltiennc,    entrance    of    into     Pennsyl- 
vania,  36,   39 
Buck,   William,   570 
Bucks  county,  petition  of  for  pajHjr  money, 

569 

deputies    from,    265 
lUidd,    Thomas,    320 
Bull,  Capt.  John,  492,  498 
Burd,   Col.   James,   491 
Burial   ground,   early,   83 
Burlington,   story  of  settlement   of,    156 
Burying  grovmds,   land   for,   372 
Bnsse,    Christian,    491 
Byers,   John,    491 
I'.yllinge,    Edward.    194 
Bvril.    Col.    William.    500 


l-.y 


577 


Index 


Cadwalader,    Dr.    Thomas,    540 

John,  258   foot  note 
Callender,    Robert,    491 

William,    456,    463 
Call  for  men  for  the  Canada  expedition,  360 
Callowhill,   Thomas,    332,    363 
Calvert,    Cecilius,    379 

George,   first   Lord   Baltimore,    ii- 
Campanius,    Rev.    John,   arrival    of,   at    New 

Sweden,   81 
Cantwell,    Edmund,    255,    273 
Carolus,    Laurentius,    176 
Carpenter,  Joshua,   336 

Samuel,   307,   315,   323,   340,   343.363; 

assistant    lieutenant-governor,    328 
Carr,   Capt.   John,   commander   at    New    Cas- 
tle,   146 

Sir   Robert,   report  of,    143 
Carteret,    Sir    George,    194 

Gov.    Philip,    162 
Cartier,  Jacques,  explorations  of,   35 
Cape    Henlopen,   220 

Capes  May  and  Henlopen,  naming  of,   40 
Captives,   return   of,    526 
Carlisle,  building  of  a   fort  at,  442 
Cattle,   branding  and  recording  of,   278 
Caves   in   Philadelphia   as  dwellings,    261 
Central   government,    provision    for,    425 
Champlain,   Samuel,  35;  journal   of,  36,   39; 
operations   of   against   the    Iroquois,    38-39 
Charles  I,  commission  of,  to  Thomas  Yong, 
62 

grant    by    ,to    Sir    Edmund    Plowden, 
59,   60 
Charles,    Robert,    540 
Charles  II,   191,   199:  charter  from  to  Penn, 

381,   517 
Charles   X.   death   of,    107 
Charter,   a   new,    for    Philadelphia,    34.5,    344 

desire   for  a  new,   275,  276 

features  of  the   new,   277 

framing  of  a   new,   276 

of   Pennsylvania,   223-235 

of   privileges,   provisions   of  the,    340, 

341 

of  property,  preparation  of,   344 

property,  veto  of,  345 

signing  of  the  new,   276 
Cherokee    Indians,    friendliness   of,    487 
Chesapeake    Bay,    early    description   of,    31-2 
Chester   county,    division   of,    372 


Chester  county,   manor  in,   513 

deputies   from,   265 

renamed   from   Ui)lan(l,   255 
Chevalier,    Peter,    553 
Chew,   Benjamin,  463 
Christ  church,   closing   of,   355 
Christian   Quakers,   the,   320 
Christina,   character   of   Swedes   at,   80 

and   Fort   Nassau,   rivalry  betwepn,  76 

fur  trade  at,   16 

lack   of   horses   and   cattle    at,   80 

naming    of,    71 

renamed,    1 1 1,    112 
Church    at    Tinicum    Island.    176 

of   luigland,   non-existent   in   Pennsyl- 
vania, 309 

of   Sweden,   the,   308 

first   in    Pennsylvania,    83 
Churches,  early.   175,    176 
Claim   of   Dutch   purchase   on   site   of   Phila- 
delphia.   59 

of    the    heir-at-law,    the,    363-373 
Clark,  John,   492 

William,    265,    273,    343 
Claus,   Daniel,   453 
Claypoole,      lames,     220,     310,     323;     letter 

from,    242 
Claypoole,  John,   296 
Clayton,   James,   405 

Major   Ashe,  expedition  of,   531 

Quartermaster    Asher,    491 

William,    173,   236,   273 
Clergy,   the   early,   308,   309 

before    the    Revolution,    309 
Cock,   John,    301 

Lasse,   236,   273,   288 

Otto  Ernest,   162,  236 

Peter,     114,     162,     288;     collector     of 
tolls,    133 
Code  of  laws  enacted,   265,   266 
Cole,  Josiah,    193,    199 
Coleman,   Henry,    sedition   of,    146,    147 
College    of    Philadelphia,    507;    law    directed 

against,   507 
Collier,    Capt   John,    "commander,"    171 
Collision     between     the     Swedes     and     the 

Dutch,   97 
Colonial   commissioners,    195 

union    recommended,    426 
Colonies,    early    trade    of,    299 

effort   for  a  union   of,   334 


578 


Index 


Colonies,  plan   for  union  of,  425 

state   of,    425 
Colonists,   alleged   grievances   of,   338 
arrival  of  in    163 1,   50 
from   Wales  and   Germany,   30J 
Colony,    early   development   of,    295,   296 
constitutional  basis  of  the,  279,  280 
trouble   in,    146,    147 
Colve,   Capt.   Anthony,  as  governor  of   New 

York,    160 
Commerce,   tribute   demanded  of,   357 
Commission  of  property,  members  of,  343 
to   meet    Indians   at   Albany,    399 
to  try  criminals,   347 
and   powers   of   deputy-governor,    312 
Commissioners    for    trade,    argument    before 
the,   516,   517 

of  property,   310 
the    boundary,    382,    383 
Committee  to  address  the  proprietary,  352 

to   read   Logan's   letter,   391 
Concord,   arrival    of   the,    220 
Condition   of   early   settlers,    174 
Conditions  and  Concessions,   234 
Connecticut,  arrival  of  settlers   from,   520 
claimants,    the,    522 
grant  of  land   from,   520 
settlers    from,    arrested,    571 
Conestoga,   destruction  of,   534 
Conestogas,   massacre  of,   534 
Conference        between         Stuyvesant        and 

Swedes,    113,    114 
Confinement,  places  for,  278 
Conflict  between  the  Dutch  and  the  Swedes, 

93.  94 
Congress    at    Albany,    proceedings    of,    425; 
representation    by,    425,    426 

at    Fort    Stanwix,    568,    569 
meeting  of  at  Albany.  334 
Coolin,   Annakey,   301 
Cook.     Arthur,     312,     316;     presentation     of 

commission   by,   324 
Coppock,    Bartholomew,    3 1 5 
Cornbury,   Lord,  358 
Coroner's   inquest,   an   early,   299 
Corssen,   Arcnt,  arrival  of,  at  Tort   Nassau, 

59 
Cosard.   Lees,   302 

Council,   action   of   regarding  a   school,   299, 
300 

and   assembly,   dissolution   of,    331 


Council,  appointment  of  by   Markham,  332 
as  i'cnn's  deputy,   315 
how  constituted,  513 
in    Maryland,    121,    i2j 
in    Philadelphia,    480 
lower      county      members      desertion 

from,   316 
members   of,    469 
minutes  of  the,   274,   275,   297-301 
officers   of,   469 
of  Governor   Nicolls,    146 
of    nine,    assembling    of,    236;    names 

of,  236 
of  state,  a  new,  343;  duties  of,  344 
of    Upland,    organization    of,    237 
of  war,   498 
opportunity    of,    to    choose    president, 

315 
Penn's  propositions  to,  316 
powers   of   the,   376 
seizure  of  a  ship  by,  296,  299 
succession  of,  to  Gov.   Hamilton,  347 
Councillors  as  representatives  of  proprietar- 
ies,  513 

charge  of  disloyalty  against,   508 
Counterfeiting,   an  early   example   of,   296 
County  courts,  early  appeals   from,   296 

employment  of   the   title,    174 
Court   at    Cpland,    a   new,   237;    jurisdiction 
of.    173 

business  in  early  years,    : 63- 166 

of  admiralty,   opposition   to,   335,   336 

of    chancery,    cases    before    the,    376; 

establishment   of,    368 
of    equity,    376 
Courtland,    Stephen,   294 
Courts,   early,    162 

of   judicature,    act    concerning,    514 
proceedings  of,   declared  void.   351 
range   of   business   of,    162 
Coxe,  Col.    Daniel,  323 
Crefcld   company,    the,    306 

immigrants    from,   305 
Cresap.    Daniel,   527 

Thomas,    operations    of,    382-386;    ar- 
rest  of,    385 
Cresap's  migration  project,  384,  385 
Crisis  in  Dutch  and  Swedish  affairs.  97,  98 
Crispin.    William,   217 
Croghan,  George  at  Fort  Pitt,  548;  in  charge 


579 


Index 


of  Indian  affairs,   462,  463;    Indian 
agent,  420;  417,  527,  563 
Culbertson,    Capt.    Alexander,    452 

Sergeant- Major    Samuel,    491 
Cumberland   county,   depredations   in,   458 

couijty,   formation  of,   412 
Cummings,   Thomas,   449 
Currency,   conditions   of,    554 

silver,    163 
Curteis,  Joseph,  288 
Cushietunk,    settlement    of,    520 

Bankers,  Jaseper,    180 

Bankers'    and    Sluyter's  journal,    180-1S7 

Dare,  William,   landlord,  257 

David,  Rev.  Hugh,  anecdote  of,   406,  407 

Davis,   Patrick,   491 

Dawes,   Abraham,   462 

Dawson,  Thomas,  Baron  Dartrey,  406 

Death   penalty,   the,   268 

Death  on  board  the   Welcome,  253 

Decay    of    forts    at    Christina    and    Tinicum, 

112 
Beclaration   of   war   against   France,   457 
Defense  of  the   province,   357 
De   Haas,   Adjutant   John    Philip,    491 
De  Haes,  John,  275 
Delavall,  John,  316,  324 
Delaware  and  Maryland,  relations  of,  379 

and  Pennsylvania,  act  uniting,  265 

Bay  and  river,  first  permanent  white 
settlement   in,    73 

Bay,  existence  of,  first  learned,   34 

Bay,    naming    of,    40 

Bay,  or  river,   first  settlement  on,   53 

colony,  delivery  of,  to  Penn,  255 

colony,   extension   of,    148 

colony,    submission    of   to   the    Dutch, 
160 

conditions  on,    143 

Indians,   conduct  of,   449 

Indians,  causes  of  disaffection  among 
the,   445-448 

Indians,   messengers   sent  to   the,   454 

Indians,  preparations  of,  for  war,  446 

Indians,  revolt  of,  445-478 

number     of     white     people     on     west 
bank  of,  134 

river,    description   of  by   DeVries,    56 

river,    distress   on,    144 

river,   first   minister  on,   76 


Delaware  river,  location  of  colonists  on,  134 

river   renamed,   62 

river,    reviving    activity    on    the,    172, 
173 

territory,   deeds   of,   262 

the,   plundering  on,    159 

trade   on   the,    156 
Delawares    and    Six    Nations,    relations    of, 
475 

submission    of,    on    the    Susquehanna, 
457 
Denny,    William,    as   governor,    459 
Deputy-governor,  opposition  to,  314 

arrival   of  a   new,   313 
De   Vries,  arrival   of  his  party  on  the   Wal- 
rus,  50 

ascent  of  Delaware  river  by,   54,  55 

David  Peterson,  sketch  of,  53 

description   of  country  by,   55 

description   of   Delaware   river  by,    56 

intercourse   of,   with   the    Indians,   54, 
56 

journal   of,    83-85 
De   Vries's  party,  settlement  of,   50 
D'Hinoyossa,    Alexander,    122 

cession  of  the   South   River  to,    133 

settlement  of,  in   Maryland,    143,   144 

surrenders  to  the  Duke  of  York,  133, 
134 
Dickinson,   John,   323,   540;    speech   of,   542, 
543;   challenge   from,   546 

Jonathan,   307 

Samuel,   540 
Dicks,   Peter,   457 
Dillwyn,   John,    391 
Dixon,    Robert,    520 
Domestic  animals,   need  of,    115 
Dongan,   Col.   Thomas,  290,  291 

release  of  land  by,  to  Penn,   293 
Draper,   Alexander,   265 
Drew,   Roger,    218 
Drewet,   Morgan,  236 
Drunkenness,  a  punishable  offense,  268 
Drystreet,  Henry,   301 
Dueling,  prohibition  of,  269 
Duke  of  York,   192,   194,  207,  209,  220,  291, 

293 

administration    under,     135-187 
deeds   issued   by,   220 
loss  of  title  by,   161 
new   patent   to,    161 


580 


Index 


Duke  of  York,  surrender  to,  of  Manhattan, 
I3i 

Duke's    laws,    establishment    and    character 
of,   14s;  262 

Dulany,   Daniel,   385 

Dunbar,   Thomas,   43  i 

Dupue,  Nicholas,  571 

Durkee,    Major  John,   573 

Dutch  agriculture,  slow  progress  of.    113 
and    English,    rival    claims   of,    66 
and      Marylanders,      conference      be- 
tween,   1 19 
and  Swedes,  absorption  of.  307 ;  con- 
ference  between   the,   71 
attempts   of,   to   control    Swedes,    13J, 

132 
authority,  center  of,    1 1 1 
authority  on  the   Delaware,    112 
characteristics   of,    261 
claims  on  the   South   River,  72 
colonists,  arrival  of,  at  Christina,   79 
colony,  sickness  and  distress  in,   113, 

114 
commission    to   examine    South    River 

conditions,    120 
confirmation   of  sale   of  land   to,   94 
conflict   of,   with    Swedes.   94 
East    India   Company,   35 
expedition,  arrival   of,    113 
feebleness  on  the   Delaware,  92,  93 
oath  of  allegiance  by,   143 
officials,    lands   of,    distributed,    142 
purchase    fr.mi    Indians,    117 
Reformed   faith.    175.    176 
rule,   brevity   of,    160 
rule   in   Pennsylvania,    111 
settlement,  the,    1 1 1 
settlers  driven   from   their  homes,  446 
settlers   ordered    to   depart    from   Del- 
aware bay,    199 
settlers  threatened  by   X'irginia  force, 

6S 
territory,  disadvantage  of  division  of. 

J33 
trade,  increase  of.  in  America.  48 
trade  on   South    River.   56 
West  India  Company,  93 

Duties,   levy  of.   liy   parliament.   560 
objections   to,    567,   568 
on  glass,  etc.,  repeal  of,  574 
prayer   for   relief  from,   567 


Dwelling  houses,  early,   180,    181 
Dyer,  Eliphalet,  520 

Earl   of   Bellomont,   335 

of  Holdernesse,  419 

of  Halifax,  the,  471 

of  Loudoun,  appointment  of  the,  457; 
return  of  to   England,  480 

of  Shrewsbury,  the,   314 

of    Sunderland,    199,    381;    letter    to, 
295 
Early  conditions,   259 

food    resources,    272 

surveying,   241,   242 
Eastburn,    Robert,    491 
Easton,  conference  at,  462 

Indian  gathering  at,   322 
Ecclesiastical    elements,    512 
Eckley,  John,   312,  323 
Education,   early   efforts    for,    279 

in  court,  164 
Elderkin,  \'ine,  571 
Elfsborg   fort,    196 

Embargo,  effect  of  an.  on  Philadelphia,  408 
Emigrants,  blending  of  descendants  of.   307 
Emigration    to    Pennsylvania,    220 
England   and    Holland,   peace   between,    10 1, 
144;    war  between,    139-143,    159 

colonial    policy   of,   209 

consolidation  of  power  of,    136 

politcal    conditions   in,    207,   208 

traditional    policy    of,    135 
England's  forces,  plunder  by,   142 
English   and   Dutch,   rival  claims  of,  66 

and   French,   struggle   for   Indian  aid, 
499 

claims.    135 

fleet  on  the  Delaware,    141 

fleet,  sailing  of  for  America,   140 

fleet,  vessels  of,   140 

immigration,    172 

-Irish,  the,  307 

laws,   establishment  of,    145 

occupancy   on   the   Delaware,    196 

purposes,   warnings  of,   to   the   Dutch. 

135 
settlement,    brief   existence   of,    80 
settlement,    the.    307-324 
settlers  at   Upland,    168,    171 
settlers,    from    New   Haven,   79 
settlers,   iiualificafions  of.   308 


';8i 


Index 


English  trade,  expansion  of,   136 

trade,   restrictions  in   favor  of,    136 
troops,    arrival    of,    457 
troops,   criticism  of,   428 

Enlisted   servants,   number  of,   390 

Episcopal   church,   the  oldest,   319 

"Essex  House,"    171 

Evans,  John,  arrival  of,  351;  antagonizes 
the  assembly,  351;  obnoxious  measures 
of,   as  governor,   357,   358 

Evelin,  Robert,  arrival  of,  59;  description 
of  the  country  by,  64;  explorations  of,  63 

Everts,    Cornelius,    160 

Ewing,  Adjutant  James,  491 

Exchange,  rate  of,  371 

Expedition  of  Dutch   colonists,   1:3 
the   tenth    Swedish,    107 
to  New  Sweden,  the  ninth,   100 

Exports,  early,   116 

Expulsion  of  the  French,  the,  479 

Fabritius,  Jacobus,   176 

Fairman,   Thomas,    173,   236,   241 

Fasting,   day  of,   411 

Fences,  provisions   for  height  of,  27S 

Fendall,  Josias,    119 

Fenwick,  John,    194,   196 

Fermor,  Thomas,   Earl   of  Pomfret,   406 

Ferries,   establishment   of,   ordered,   279 
control   of,   secured,   538 

Feudal   lordship,   release   of,   377 

Field,  John,   363 

Finance  under   Thomas,   387 

Financial  conditions,   554,   555 
measures,    507 

Finland,  colonists   from,   81 

Finney,   Samuel,   343 

Finns,  arrival  of,  80 

Fire,   act   for  prevention   of,   332 

company   in    defense   of   Philadelphia, 

411 
engine,    a    novel,    411 

First   church   in   limits   of   Pennsylvania,   83 
issue   of   paper   money,   the,    36S,   369 
minister  on  the   Delaware,   76 
sail  vessel  on  the  great  lakes,   179 
Swedish  settlers,   sketches  of,   75 
vessel  built  within  limits  of  original 

Union,    40 
white  settlement   in   Pennsylvania,  82 

Fish,   early   supply  of,   240,   241 


Fisher,   Joshua,   553 

William,    463,    553 
Fitch,  Jabez,   520 
Fitzwater,  Thomas,  253,  275,  296 
Five   Nations,   the,   6;   peace   with,   339 
Fletcher,    Benjamin,    326;     confirmation    of 
laws  by,  326 

episode,   the,   294,   295 
Governor,  316;  call  for  men  by,  328; 
lamentation    of,    331 
Flower,    Enoch,   296 

-Ford,  Philip,  334;  claims  of  heirs  of,  358 
Follett,    Benjamin,    570,    571 
Forbes,   Brigadier-General   John,   483;    death 

of,   500 
Fords  in  the  Duquesne  expedition,  491,  492 
Forgery   by   a    high   official,   356 
Fort  advised  on  the   Monongahela,  418 
at   Tinicum,  decay  of,   112 
Allen,    completion    of,    451 
Augusta,  garrison  at,  reinforced,  528; 
its  garrison,  500;   threatened  attack 
on,   469 
Beversrede,   building   of,   94 
Bedford,    arrival    of    troops    at,    529; 

defense  of,  528 
building  of,  at  Carlisle,  442 
building  of,   at   Wyoming,   486 
building    of,    by    the    Ohio    Company, 

416 
building   of   substantial,   at    Pittsburg, 

509 
built   at    Hoorn-kill,    117 
built  at  Fort  Little   Meadows,  436 
Casimir,   building  of,   98;   capture   of, 
loi;  capture  of  by  the  Dutch,  104; 
decay   of,    113;    name    of,    changed, 
loi ;   under   the   Dutch,    112 
Christina,   building  of,   71;    decay   of, 
112;    house   building    at,    72;    siege 
of,    105;    strengthened,   98;    surren- 
dered to  the  Dutch,   105 
contribution    for    bviilding   a,    418 
Cumberland,    i-etreat   to,    441 
Duquesne,    arrival    of    troops    before, 
493 ;     conditions    at,     487 ;     details 
of  attack  upon,  439-442;  killed  and 
wounded    at,     440;    evacuation    of, 
498;   expedition   to,   488-494;   move- 
ment against,  498;  preparations  for 
march     to,     435,     436;     reconnois- 


582 


Index 


sance    at,    493,    494;    retreat    from, 
441;  routes  to.  49J;  second  attempt 
to   capture,   443 
Fort    Durkee,    struggle    for    possession    of, 
5-3:   evacuation   of,   574 

Elfsborg,  82;  abandonment  of,  98 

Granville,    attack    upon,    458 

Korsholm,  burning  of,  102;  strength- 
ened,  98 

Ligonier,    siege    of,    529 

Loudoun,  attack  upon,  553,  554;  re- 
tirement of  the  garrison   from,   554 

Nassau,  185;  abandonment  of  by  the 
Diitch,  98;  a  center  of  trade,  49; 
and  Christina,  rivalry  between,  76; 
arrival  of  Cai)t.  George  Holmes  at, 
65;  arrival  of  De  Vries  at,  54; 
defenseless  condition  of,  65;  de- 
termination to  abandon  it,  49;  first 
place  occupied  by  white  men  on 
the  Delaware,  49;  new  commissary 
at,  93;  recapture  of,  65;  situation 
of,   49 

Necessity,  bombardment  of,  427;  gar- 
rison  of,   427;    surrender  of,   427 

New    Gottenburg,   strengthened,   98 

New  Korsholm,  82 

of  Nye    (new)    Gottenburg.  82 

on  the  Monongahela  taken  by  the 
French,  424 

Pitt,  arrival  of  troops  at,  530;  Indian 
assault  upon,  530;  march  from, 
546;    supi>lics   for   captured,   549 

Shirley,  evacuation  of,  461;  threat- 
ened,  458 

to  be   built   at   Wyoming,   480 

Trinity,    loi 

William    Henry,    surrender   of,    480 
Forts,  evacuation  of  the    French.   509 

garrisons    for,    492 

on     the      frontier,     contribution      for 
building,    339,   340 
Founder  of    Pennsylvania,   the,    188   et    sc<i. 
Fourth    expedition    from    Sweden    to    Chris- 
tina,  80 
Fox,    George,    189,    190.    I9.1.    >99.    3-'2;    de- 
scription  by,    148.    15';   journal   of.    155 

Joseph,  451,  483;   speaker,   547 
Frame     of     government.     263.     275;     aspect 
of  the,  towards  religion,  354.  355;  the  old 
and   the   new,   337 


France,  declaration  of  war  against,  457 
I'rankfort    company,    the,    305 
Franklin,     Benjamin,     348,     420,     425,     451. 
5  Ml    515;    agent    in    London,    547;    agree- 
ment    of,     with     the     proprietaries,     503; 
clerk,  408;  conference  of,  with  Braddock, 
435;    in    London,    501;    letter    from,    540; 
message     from,     545;     pamphlet    by,     408, 
535:    return   of,   540;   speaker,   544;   exam- 
ination   of,     555;     work    of    in    obtaining 
army    supplies,    435 
Franklin   square,   258 
Franklin's   plan    for    union.    425 
Franks,    David,   354 
Frazier,  James,   439 
Free   Society  of  Traders,   formation  of   the, 

218,    220;    lands  of,    513 
French    aggressions,    425 

basis  of  their  claim,   415 

battle  with  the,  424 

claims,   arrogance   of,    420 

claim   on   the    Ohio,    416 

contention,    the,    416 

fort   at   Casoago,   419 

forts,   evacuation   and   destruction   of, 

509 

in    Canada,    the,    35-36 

invasion,    the,    415 

measures  against  the   Indians,  418 

measures  to   oppose   the,   419 

on   the   Allegheny,    415 

permanent   expulsion   of  the,   498 

the,   in   America,   415 

trading  rights,   425 

John,    356,   358 
Friendly     Association,      contribution      from, 
463;    exclusion    of    from    treaty,    471;    re- 
monstrance   from    the,    472,    473 
Friends   in    Rngland.   letter   to.   352 
Friends'    school,    319 
Frontier,   difficulty   of   defending   the,    531 

harvests,   gathering   of.    530 

inhabitants,    account    of    injuries    of. 
536-538 

protection   of.    471 
Frontiers,  recession  of,   511 
Frontiersmen,   petition   in   Ijehalf  of,    539 
Fruits,  early,  240 
Fuller,    Benjamin,    553 

Furly,   Benjamin,   210,   211    (foot   note).  306 
Fulton,   Robert,   512 


.^«3 


Index 


Fur   trade   at   Manhattan,   40 
beginning  of,   8 

fear    of    diversion    from    Albany,    292 
prices   governing   the,    115,    116 

Furs,   shipment  of,   116 

Gage,  General,  application  to  for  troops, 
535 ;  call  of  for  troops,  535;  commander- 
in-chief,   532 

Thomas,   439 
Galbreath,  James,   480 

Galloway,   Joseph,   324,    473,    484;    challenge 
to,    546;    prominence   of,    514;    resolutions 
by,     541  ;     reply     of,     to     Dickinson,     543, 
544;    speaker,    556 
Game,    early,    239 

protection  of  on   Indian   lands,   516 
Gardner,    Stephen,    572 
Garraway,    Charles,   491 
General  .Kssenihly,  election  of,  262-264 
George    III,  petition  to,   for  changes,   542 
Geoffrey,  arrival  of  the,  271;  the  sailing  of, 

230 
German    and    Welsh    settlers,    qualifications 
of  the,   308 

colonists,    arrival   of,    302 
immigration,    368 
land  purchase,  the  first,   306 
Lutherans,   the,    511 
protestants,    the,    308 
settlers   and   Cresap,   383,    384 
settlers,  attempts  to  dispossess,  384 
settlers  of  Germantown,   308 
settlers,    persecution    of,    385 
settlers,    purchase   of   land   by,    306 
settlers,   the   first,   305,   306 
Germans,    invitation    of,    to    settle    at    Tul- 
pehocken,  510 

vast    immigration    of,    5 1 1 
Germantown,  arrival   of   rebels  at,    538 
Gibson,  James,   539 
Gist,   Christopher,   417 

Goodson,    John,     316;     assistant    lieutenant- 
governor,    328;    resignation   of,    332 
Gookin,     Charles,    appointment    of    as    lieu- 
tenant-governor,   359;    groundless    charges 
by,    361 
Gordon,    Lewis,    571 

Gordon,  Patrick,  355,  370;  administration 
of,  371-373;  commissioned  lieutenant- 
governor,   370:   death  of,   376 


Gorsucl'.,    Richard,   grant   to,    148 

Gouldney,    Henry,   359,   3O3 

Government,  attempt  to  change  the,   540574 
of   Pennsylvania,   beginning  of,  237 
of   the   colony   organized,    262-270 
opposition   to   change  in,   542,   543 
petitions  for  change  of,  542 
Presbyterian  opposition   to  change  of, 

547 
progress   towards    change   of,    559 
how    constituted,    332,    j^i^ 
new   frame   of,   332,   333 

Governor,   appointments   by,   300 

Denny,   criticism   of,   485,   486 
Dinwiddle,   proclamation   by,    423 
Hamilton,   complaint   to,    416 
restrictions  upon  the,   459 
Shirley,       commander-in-chief,       442; 

offer   of  assistance   by,   424 
trials  of  the   office  of,   346 

Governors,   meeting  of,   466 

Governor's  Council,  meeting  of,  273;  mem- 
bers of,   273 

Governorship  of  Thomas  and  Richard  Penn, 
407-414 

Graeme,  Dr.  Thomas,   372 

Graham,  James,   290 

Grain,    cultivation    of,    in    New    Sweden,    86 

Grand   jury,   the    first    in    Pennsylvania,   296 

Grant,    Lieut.    Charles,    549 

Grant's    Hill,   493 

Grapes,    the    native,    302 

Graydon,   Alexander,    388,    492 

Great    Britain,    dominion   of,    425 

Great  Cove,  burning  of  settlements  at,  447, 
448 

Great  law  amended,  277,  278;  provisions  of, 
266-270 

Great  Treaty,   the,   282-288 

Griffin,  building  of  the,  179;  entry  of  on 
Lake  Erie,  179;  voyage  of  up  the  lakes, 
180 

Grifitts,   Thomas,   390,   392 

Griffith,   the,    196 

(jripen,   the,   return   of,   to   Christina,   74 

Growdon,  Joseph,   ^2^ 

Lawrence,    323,   408 

Grube,   Rev.   Bernhard  Adam,   532 

Guest,    Alice,    257 
John,    343 

Guilder,  value  of,    163   foot   note 


584 


Index 


Gunnarsson,   Svcii,   sketch   of,   73 

Hague,    VVilliain,    241 

HaiRC,   William,    218,    J73,   290;   visits    Lord 

IJaltiinore,    244 
Ilalket,    Sir    I'efer,    431,    436;    burial    of,    498 
Hall,   Col.    Kdward,   384 
Hambright,   John,   492 

Hamilton,   Andrew,   372;   chosen   lieutenant- 
governor,  344;   death  of,  347 
Hans,  460 

James.    408,    506;    appointed    lieuten- 
ant-governor,    515;     commissioned, 
411,   412;    instructions   to,    515,    516 
letter   from   governor,    522 
Lieut. -Col.    Hance,   488 
Thomas,   492 
Hanson.    Matliys,    i  14 
Hardwickc,     Lord    Chancellor,    decision    by 

412 
Harris,   John,    527 
Harrison,  James,  207,  ZT^y  274.  32-2;   Pcnn's 

letter   to.   217;   perjury  of,   311 
Harlsfelder,    Julian,    173 
Harvey.    Sir  John,   65 
Hasell.    Samuel,    408 
Haslett,   John,   491 
Hayes,   James,   491 

William,    498 
Hcathcote,    Gilbert,    363 
Ilecrmans    (or    Herman)    Augustine,    120 
Hcidler,    Martin,    491 
Heirs  of   Penn,  363 
Helm,   Israel,  interpreter,   162;  justice,    166; 

supervisor  of   fur   trade,    133 
Hendricks,    John,    384 
Hendricksen,    Cornelius,   discoveries  of,   44; 

report    of,    43-44 
Hendrickson,    Yeshoo,   300 
Herman,   Augustine,  97;   journal  of,    121 
Ephraim,   220,  254 
Gasparus,   275 
Herriott.  Thomas,   253 
Hickman,   Thomas,   497 

Higginhotham,   Charles,   operations  of,   385 
Hill,    Richard,    324,    363;    as    speaker,    361; 
bravery    of,     358;     charges    against.    361; 
death    of.    372 
Hilliard.   John,    273 

Hillsborough.    Larl   of,   letter   from   the.   565 
Historical   review   of  the  constitution,   540 


Iljort,    Rev.    Pctrus,    100 

lloge,   William.   457 

Holland   and   England,   peace   between.    144; 
war    between,    159 

Hollender.     Peter,    commissioned    governor, 
76 

Holme,    Thomas,    218.    242.    257.    265,    273, 
288;    sketch   of,   322 

Holmes,   Captain   George,  65 

Hook,   Marcus,   revolt  by,   146 

Hoorn-kill,   seizure   of,    142,    143 

Hopkinson,  Thomas.   408 

Hospital,   proposition    to   establish.    464 

Hostilities,   suspension  of,   454 

Hosset   (or  Osset),  left  as  commissary,  50 

House  of  Commons,  address  to   the,   554 

House  of  defense,  264 

Howell,    Samuel,    553 

Hudde,    Andreas,   commissary   at    Fort    Nas- 
sau,   93 

Hudson,    Henry,   exploration   of.   34-35 

Hughes,  John.  451,  480.  483,  486;  agent  for, 
sale  of  stamps,   550 

Huguenots,  the.  301 

Humphreys.    Charles.    547 

Hunter,  Col.  John,  loan  to,  507 
David.    491 

Hutchins,    Quartermaster    Thomas,    491 

Huyghcn,   Hendricks.   73.    107 

Hyndshaw,    Tames.   492 

Immigrants,   arrival  of  at   New   Amstel,    133 
Immigration,   beginning  of  the  tide  of,  301, 
302 

increase  of.   368 
Impost   on   liquor.   337,   354 
Impeachment   trial,   an  early,   310.   311 
Inbcrt,   Andrew,   302 

Indentured    servants    enlisted,    389;    enlist- 
ment  of,   444 
Indian  affairs,  Croghan   in  charge  of,   4<'>3 

agents    recommended,    426 

aid   to   the    English.    427 

allegiance    jeopardized,     555 

anthropology,    12 

atrocities,    447 

atrocities  at  the  Great  Cove,  447.  44S 

chiefs,    4;    entertainment    to,    450 

claims,    366 

complaints,    395 

confederacy    proposed,    563 


585 


Index 


Indian  conferences,  564 
congress,  568,  569 
council   at   Easton,   458,   52_'-52S 
council  at  Lancaster,   470 
council   at    Logstown,    418 
council  at   Printz   Hall,    102 
council   at   Shamokin,   447 . 
council,  details  of  proceedings  at  an, 

494-498 
deed,   an,   old,   377 
depredations,  446,  486,   528.   529 
depredations   at   Gnadenhutten,   450 
depredations    in    Cumberland    county, 

458 
fealty   to   the   English,   417,   428,   522 
humor,  396 
intercourse,    425,    426 
invasion,   446 

lands,    encroachment    upon,    555 
negotiations,  486,  487 
operations  against   the    French,   482 
outbreak   at   Manhattan,    106 
peace   council,    481 
peace    made    with,    478 
prisoners,    reward    for,    452 
purchase,   1682,  242,  243 
purchase,   bounds  of,   242,   243 
ravages     around     Fort     Cumberland, 

446 
refugees      from      Xain      and      Wiche- 

tunk,    532 
relations   under    Keith,    366,    367 
removals,    395,    396 
sales   of    land    by,    287-289,    426,    568, 

569 
scalps,   reward  for,  452 
title     to     lands,     discussion     of,     475, 

478 
trade,    88 

trade,    attractiveness    of,    216 
trade,    conditions    of,    420 
trade,    license    for,    550 
trade,    opening    of,    550 
trade,    restrictions    on,    339 
treaty,   411,   473.   474 
treaty  at   Chester,  87 
treaty   closed,    527 
treaty    with    Maryland,    396 
treaty    with    Virginia,    396 
war,    529-532 
Indians,   abuse  of  liquor  sale   to,    123 


Indians,   advice   from,   470,   471 

and    i)roprietaries,    relations    between, 

476 
and      settlers,      boundaries      between, 

563 
ask    for    more    pay    for    lands,    395 
at   Aughwick,    428 
at     Bethlehem    and     Nazareth,     534 
Captain    Smith's    deception    of,    31-33 
characteristics    of,     in     Pennsylvania, 

26 
complaints   of   the,    523 
conference     of,     with     Peter     Minuit, 

70 
conferences   with,   454 
conscious    of    ruin    from    drink,    124 
council  of,  at  Fort  Nassau,  98 
council    of,    at    Lancaster,    525-527 
description    of,    by    De    Vries,    56 
details   of   claims   of,    474-478 
fear   of   rupture    with,    562-563 
fire-arms   supplied   to,   21 
first   supplied   with    rum.    15-16 
Five    Nations    of,    6 
French    efforts    to    influence    the,    416 
French    operations    against    the,    418 
frequent     selection     of,     for     guides, 

130,    131 
friendliness    of,     towards     De     \"ries, 

54-55 
friendliness    to    pioneers,    33,    40 
gathering   of,    at    Easton,    522 
implements   of,   9- 11 
injury   to,   by   drink,    295 
interests   of,    with    the    French,    445 
intense    feeling    against,    534 
intruders    upon,    complained    of,    562, 

563 

Iroquois  supremacy  in  Pennsylva- 
nia,  23-24 

Iroquois  supremacy  over  the  Minsi, 
23-24 

land    difficulties    with,    523 

Len-a-pe,   or   Leni  Len-a-pe,   3 

Lenape   migration,   27,   29 

liquor  selling  to,   123,   124,   127 

meeting  of,  on  the  Susquehanna,   454 

money    (Zewandt),  92 

moral   condition   of,    15 

murder  of,   563,   564 

murder  of,  at  New  Amstel,   127 


586 


Index 


Indians,    murder  of  converted,   531 

negotiations    with,    171.    172,    548 
New  Sweden   threatened  by,  86,  87 
number  of  in   Pennsylvania,    7 
objections    of,    to    the    walking    pur- 
chase. 378 
occupations  and  dwellings  of,   7-8,   10 
of    Pennsylvania,    the,    1-29 
of   Pennsylvania,    characteristics  of.  3 
of  Pennsylvania,   number  of,  2 
of   Pcrnsylvania.   their  origin,  2 
of  the  interior,   16-17 
on    the    Delaware,    estimate    of    num- 
ber,  64 
payment   to.   at    Philadelphia,   395 
peace   made   with,    129,   481,   482 
peace  with,  in  the  colonies.  339 
penalty  for  selling  liquor  to,   161 
political    system    of,   6-7 
possession   of  land  among.  9 
presents  for  captured,   548 
presents  to,  458,  459 
presents  to  by   the   Dutch,    112 
privileges   of   laws   extended    to.    339 
purchase       from.      claimed       by      the 

Dutch,   59 
purchase  of  land  from.  79,  98 
relations   of   Lenape    to    Iroquois.    19- 

21 
release  of  lands  by,  366 
religion  of,    13-14 
removal  of,   westward,  372 
request   for  stores  by.    527 
restrictions   upon,    366.367 
return   of,   to   Philadelphia.    535,   536 
return   of,   to   their   families.   535 
revenge  of,   for  murder,    128 
sale   of  arms  to,   forbidden,   22 
sales  of  land   by,   376,   377 
sale  of  lands  by,   to  the   Dutch,    117 
sale   of  liquor   to,   restricted,   268,  269 
second  treaty  of,   with   Swedes,   72 
statement   by  the,  470 
struggle     between     Lenape     and     Iro- 
quois, 22-23 
sub-tribes   of,    5-6 
Swedes'   agreement   with,    70,   71 
the    Massawomeks.   31 
the  Susquehannock,   17-18 
threatened   war   with,    152,    155 


Indians,    threats    of,    agamst    settlers   on    the 
.Susquehanna,   432 

totems   of,   5 

trade  with,  on  the  Hudson  river,  21 

treaties  with,  242 

treaty   with,   494 

treaty  with,   under   Keith,  367 

trouble     between     the     northern     and 
southern,   366 
Industries,  early,  371 
Ingoldsby.   Richard.   294 
Ingram.    Isaac.  253 
Inhabitants   gathering   of,    538 
Insurgents,   parley   with,   539 
Interest,   rate  of  reduced,   368 
Irish  Quakers,  the,  307 

Iroquois     confederacy,     meeting     with     the, 
399 

Indians    in    Pennsylvania,    16-17 

war  among,    130 

Jackson.   Paul,  492 

Richard,      545;      resignation      of      as 
agent,  574 
Tacobson,   Hendrick,  300 

Jacques   Island,   seat   of  authority.  82;   iden- 
tified as  Little  Tinicum,  55 
Jacquet.  John  Paul,   112 
James,  Abel,   553 

Duke  of  York,  grant   to,   136,    139 
Jamison,   Major  David,  491 
James   II,    199 

decision  of,  as  to  boundary,  380 
Janney.   Thomas,   323 
Janvier.   Thomas.   484 
Jasper,  John.    188 

Margaret.    188 
Jegou,    Peter,   his  island,    151 
Jenkins,  John,   570-572 
Jennings,    Edward,  385 

Samuel,   320,   332 
Jews,   settlement   of  in    Pennsylvania,   354 
Jockey  Club,   founding  of,   557 
Jones,   Dr.    Edward.   258,  note;   letter  from, 
258,  259.  323 

Griffith.   265.   315.   352 

Owen.   258,    foot   note 
John  and   Sarah,  sailing  of  the.   218 
Jordan.    Robert.   391 

Journal   of   Dankers  and   Sluyter,    180-187 
Judge,    impeachment    trial    of,    310,    311 


587 


Index 


Judges,  protest  against  Quaker.   347 

tenure  of  changed,   514 
Judicial   system,   tiie   early,   270 
Jumonville,   death   of,   424 
Jury,  the  first  trial,  296 
Justice,   administration   of,   362 
Johnson,    Sir   William,   462,    473,   475,   477. 

479,  482,  484,  523-5^6,  535.  548,  563.  568, 

570 

Kalniar,  Nyckel  the,  homeward  voyage  of, 
74;   return  of  to  Christina,  76 

Kearslcy,  Dr.  John,  372 

Keeper  of  the  great  seal,   310 

Keith  and  Logan,  strife  between,  369,  370 

Keith,  George,  199,  316,  319,  362;  character- 
istics of,  3:9;  charges  against,  319;  trial 
of,    320;    relations    of    with    Indians,    366, 

367 

Keith,  Sir  William,  355,  361;  allegiance  of 
to  the  Assembly,  368;  close  of  adminis- 
tration of,  371:  old  age  and  death  of, 
371;  Sio 

Kern,  Adjutant  Jacob,  491 

Kent   deputies   from,  265 
the   ship,    196 

Kidd,  Captain,   334 

Kiept,  Willem,  71,  7-'.  74,  75,  76;  unwise 
administration   of,  92 

King,  appeal  to  the,  454 

George  II,  money  voted  for,  390 
George   III,  message  from,  565 
loyalty  due  to   the,   508 
of  England,   315 
petition  to  the,  565,  566 
William   III,   petition   to,   294 
Thomas,  498;   speech  of,  495,  496 

"Kingsesse,"  91 

King's  prerogative,  invasion  of  the,  471  ;  517 
uniform,  insults  to  the,   555 

Kinsey,  John,  399 

Kirkbride,  Mahlon,   457 

Kittanning,   expedition   against,   459 

"Kleynties  and  his  comrade,"  significance 
of,  45-46,  48 

Kling,   Mans,   72,   73,  80 

Kreigsheim,    immigrants   from,    306 

Krygier,   Capt.    Martin,    120 

Lambert,  General,   313 
Lamherton.  Capt.  George,  79 


Lancaster,  council  at,  470 

county,  erection   of,   372 
Indian  council   at,   525-527 
troops  ordered  to,   536 

Land,  further  grants  of,  requested,   172,  173 
grant  of,  to  the  Ohio  coApany,  416 
grant   of,   to   Society  of  Traders,   219 
grants,  changes  of,   with   Swedes,  258 
grants  of,    148 

grievance  of  colonists  concerning,  338 
Indian   sale   of,   to   proprietaries,   376, 

377 
offered    for    Connecticut    immigrants, 

423 

patents,  delay  in  granting,  338 

per  cent,   of,   allowed   for   roads,   338, 

339 
probable    definite    grants    to    Swedes, 

133 
purchase   by   Penn,   287 
warrants,   proclamation   against  grant- 
ing, 532  ■ 

Landing,   Robert   Wade's,   241 

Lands,  causes  of  sub-division  of,  513 
claims  against,  by  Indians,  366 
grant  of,  to  Gov.   Dongan,  293 
mutual  releases  made  of,  497 
offer   of,   to   soldiers,    442 
offered  by  Virginit  for  troops,  423 
on  the   Susquehanna,   292,  294 
purchase  of,  from  Indians,  412 
sub-division  of  large  tracts,   513 
tracts  of   5,000  acres  each,   513 
unoccupied,  402 

Langhorne,  Jeremiah,  372 
Thomas,  322 

Lardner,  John,  374 

Large,   Ebenezer,   391 

La   Salle's  discoveries,    177,    187 

discoveries   on   the   Ohio,    178,    179 
visit  to  Western  Pennsylvania,   178 

Law,  passage  of,   for  raising  money,   516 

proposed    for    security    of   real   estate, 

S07 

for  public  defense,  passage  of,  504 
Lawrence,  Thomas,  399,  408 
Lawrie,  Gawen,  194 
Laws,  266-270 

governing   removals,   278,   279 

new  set  of,  urged,  337 

objection   to   many,   in   London,   345 


588 


Index 


Laws,  objections  to  passage  of  various,  516, 
517 
submission  of,  to  the  King,  345 
ten    important,    368 

Larrin,  Andrew,  302 

LeBoeuf,  evacuation  of  fort,   509 
loss  of  post  at,  529 

I-cchawanock,  proposed  settlement  at,  527 

Leech,  Thomas,   390,   480 

Legal  tender,  bills  of  credit  as,   554;   condi- 
tions, 559 

Legislators,  some  of  the  early,  320-324 

Legislature,    permanent     separation    in    the, 
348 

Lehnmann,  Philip  W.,  288 

Lenape,   number  of  in   Pennsylvania.   7 

Letitia  house,  261   foot  note 

Letters  from   a   Farmer,   560-562;   quotations 
from,  362;  publication  of,  560-562 

Liberty  of  conscience,  266,  267 

Licenses,  early,  269,  270 

Lieutenant-governor,    measures    for    a    new, 

S15 

office  of,   not  wanted,   515 
two  appointments  of,  316 
Lieutenant-governors,     unfortunate     charac- 
ter of,  348 
Lieutenant-governorship,     not    desired,    312, 

313 
Lindstrom,    Peter,    100;    town    laid    out    by, 

102 
Lion,  arrival  of  the,  271 
Liquor,  impost  on,   337 

selling  to   Indians,  evils  of,   428 
Little   Meadows,  fort  built  at,   436 
Livezey,  Thomas,   558 

Lloyd  and   T'lackwell,   trouble  between,   313, 
3«4 

Charles,   324 

David,   313,    316,   324,   335,    344,   352, 
370;   death  of,   372;   selection  of  as 
speaker.   371  ;   speaker,   351 
Lieut.-Col.  Thomas,  491 
Thomas,  296.  300,  313,  316,  324,  346, 
391;   and   his   family,   306;   commis- 
sion of,  as  lieutenant-governor,  316; 
election      of     as      president,      315; 
prominence  of,   310 
Lock,  Carolus,  fine  of,  147 

Rev.   Lars  Carlsson,  93 
Logan,  James,  265;  appointment  of,  as  sec- 


retary, 337;  343;  charges  of  against 
Lloyd,  360;  arrest  of,  360,  361;  letter 
from,  361,  362;  363,  367;  and  Keith,  strife 
between,  369,  370;  removal  of,  from  office, 
369;  restoration  of,  as  secretary,  370;  as 
chief  justice,  372;  gift  of,  for  library, 
386;  letter  of,  to  the  meeting,  390,  391; 
resignation  of,  407;  441,  510 
Logan  square,   258 

William,   408,  452,  457,  573 
Loganian   Library,   386,   387 
London,  plague  in,   192 
Long  Finn,  the,  trial  of,  147 
Lord   15altimore,   his  claims,   282;   orders  of, 
to  survey  lands,   118,  119;  vs.  the  Penns, 
decision  of,  412,  413;  claims  of,  379-382 
Lord   Loudon,   meeting  of,    with   governors, 

466 
Lords    Commissioners    for   Trade,    Pcnn    be- 
fore  the,  200 

of  trade,  423;  conference  with,  454 
petition  to  the  house  of,  466 
Loss  of  Swedish  expedition,  94,  97 
Lotteries,  act  suppressing,  508 

in  support  of  the  college,  507 
prevalence   of,    558 
prohibition  of,   558,   559 
proposed   suppression   of,   507 
Louis  the   Fourteenth,   301 
Lovelace,   Governor,    145-147:   term   of,    148; 

letter    from,    159 
Lower   Counties,   the,   220 
control  of  the,   348 
discontent  in,  315.  316 
settlement  stopped  in  the,  386 
Lower   Marion,  description  of,  259 
Lowthcr,    George,    appointment    of    as    cap- 
tain,  347 

Margaret,   363 
Loyal   Hanna.  the  army  at.  498 

Magistrates,   respect    for.   demanded,   310 
Mahanoy,  burning  of  village  at,  451 
^[anhattan,  bad  conditions  at.  92 

Dutch  trade  at,  40 

jnirchase  of,   50 

rapid  growth  of,  94 
.Mann,  Abraham,  265 
Manor  of  Stoke,  survey  of,  569 
Mansfield,  I^rd,  promise  of,  518 
Maps,  early  Dutch,  44-47 


589 


Index 


Market-house,  the,  258 
Markham,  Sir  John,  321 

William,     273;     accused    of    piratical 
connivance,   334;   as   lieutenant-gov- 
ernor   of    lower    counties,    316;    as 
Penn's  agent  in   England,   310;   let- 
ters   of,    239-241 ;    lieutenant-gover- 
nor,   236;    visit    of,    to     Maryland, 
238;  310,  320,  321;  appointment  of, 
326;    arrival    of    in    America,    210; 
commissioned    by     Penn,    328;     ad- 
ministration   of,    duration    of,    334; 
purchase   of,   289,   290 
Marquis  of  Halifax,  letter  to  the,  302 
Marriages,   provisions  governing,  269 
Maryland  and  Delaware,  relations  of,  379 

authorities,  extravagant  claims  of,  118 

boundary  line,  238 

colony,    the,    117 

council,    121,   122 

demonstrations,   fruitlessness  of,   120 

government,    demonstrations   by,    156, 

159 

proprietor,   jurisdiction   of,   386 

weakness  of  patent  of,   121,   122 

settlements,    desertions   to,    118 

Mary   of   Southampton,   seizure   of  the,   296, 

299 
Mason  &  Dixon  line,  the,  560 
Massachusetts,   letter   from   to   England,    565 

offer  of  aid  from,  424 
Master   of   the    rolls,    the,    300;    appointment 

of,  310 
Masters,  William,  483 
Matson,  Margaret,  300 

Neels,  300 
Mattahoorn,  Indian  chief,  70 
Mattiniconck,  importance  of,   151 
Mayer  of  Philadelphia,  the  first,  316 
McClung,  Charles,  491 
McClure,  James,  57^ 
McDowell,  William,   554 
McGrew,   Archibald,   492 
McKee,   Alexander,   491 
McKnight,  John,  491 
McPherson,  Robert,  491 
Meeting  house,  the,  258 

for  Sufferings,  act  of,   455 
of  justices  at  Albany,  291 
Meinardean,  Peter,  302 
Mennonitcs,  the,  305 


Men  of  the  frontier,  the,  510-539 

Mercer,  Hugh,  460,  491;  at  Pittsburg,  499 

Mey,  Cornelius,  agent  of  the  West  India 
Company,  49;  as  the  first  pioneer  to  State 
river  front,  49 ;  visit  of,  to  America  in 
1623,  49;  visit  of,  to  Delaware   Bay,  40 

Mifflin,   John,   399 

Jonathan,   462 
Samuel,   553 

Miles,   Samuel,  491 

Military  appropriation,  433,  451 

event,  the  most  important,   500 
expeditions    against    French    subjects, 

431 
expenses,  bill  to  meet,  483 
funds,  method  of  raising,  434 
march  of  from  Will's  creek,  436 
movements,   401 
movement     against     Fort     Duquesne, 

488-494 
operations   towards  Duquesne,   493 
preparations  under  Thomas,   387 
roads,  434,  435 
road,   opening  of  a,   492 
situation,  443,  444,  519,  520 

Militia  bill,  passage  of,  450 

conflict  of,  with  watchmen,  351,  352 
law  enacted,  461 
laws,  repeal  of,  461 
need  of,  335 
organization  of  a,   351 
summoned  to  Will's  creek,  423 

Miller,  John,   534 

Mills,  early,   175,  520 

Minuit,  Peter,  69,  70;  departure  of,  72; 
director-general,  arrival  of  at  Manhattan, 
so;  loss  of,  at  sea,  73;  recall  of,  59 

Mob,  operations  of  a,   548,   549 

Moll,  John,   220,   254,   265,   266,   273 

Money  advanced   for  troops,   390 
bill   for  issue  of,   508 
for   Indians,   563 
measures  for  raising,  507 
obstacles  in  raising,  501,  502 
rate  of  interest  on,  reduced,  368 
voted  for  the   King's  use,   390,   427 
voted  for  the  Queen,  360,  361 

Montgomery,   John,    491 
Thomas,  553 

Montour,  Andrew,  417,   446 

Morton,  John,  547 


590 


Index 


Moore.   iJr.   Nicholas,   513;   speaker,   274 

John,   307,  336;   advocate,  335;   attor- 
ney-general,  347 

Nicholas,  300,  310;  arrival  of,  271 

Samuel   Preston,  452,  462 

William,  450,  499,  507 
Morals  ami  manners,  557 

provision    for  good,   267,   268 
Moravians  not  included  as  belligerents,   51: 
More,    Nicholas,    219,   288 
Morgan,   Evan,   451 

Jacob,   491 

John,   491 
Morrey,  Humphrey,  316 

Morris,  Anthony,  352,  449,  452;  removal  of, 
from  judgeship,  335;  writ  of  replevin  by, 

335 

Col.  Lewis,  238,  431 

Joshua,   449,   456 

Robert,   55' 

Robert    Hunter,    515;    arrival    of,    431 
Muhlenberg,  John   Peter  Gabriel,  412 

Rev.   Henry   Melchior,   511 
Muncy  Indians,  troubles  of,  497 
Murder  of   Indians  near  New  Amstel,   127 
Muskingum,  expedition   to  the,   546 

Naming  of  Delaware  Bay,  40 
Naturalization   act,   265 
Navigation   act,   the,    136 
Nazareth,   burning  of.   451 
Nelson,    Samuel,   491 
.NertunJtis,   Rev.   Matthias,    100 
New  Albion,   description  of,  61,   62 

grant  of  by  Charles  I,  5-9 
New   Amstel    (.Vew   Castle),    11 1 

capture  of.  by  the  Knglish,   141 

peace   at,    12.2 

soldiers  sent  to,  120 
New  Amsterdam,  surrender  of,  to   England, 

140 
Newberry,  manor  of,  511 
New  Castle,  184;  arrival  of  the  Welcome  at, 

254 

county,   173,   174 

delivery  of,  to  Pcnn,  254 

deputies   from,   265 

fort  built  at,  98 

fort,  commander  at,   146 

settlement  at,  79 

the    12-mile  circle  around,  220,   283 


New   England,  immigrants  from.  307 

settlers,  encampment  of,   572 
New   Gottenburg,   fort  of,  82 
New  Jersey,  defense  of,   488 

purchase,  the,  79 
Newlin.   Nathaniel,   513 

Nicholas,    307 
New  Netherland  as  English  territory,   139 

authority  over,   143 

restoration  of,  to  England,  160 

seizure  of,  by  England,  107 
New  period  of  development,  66 
New   River,   the,   46 

New  Sweden,  67;  agricultural  operations  at, 
86 

arrival  of  goods  in,  88 

arrival  of  new  governor  of,    102 

cattle   in,  91 

condition   of,    1650,   97,   99 

conditions  described  by  De  X'ries,  83- 

85 
defensive  buildings  in,  88,  91 
desertions  from,   102 
despair  in,  98,  99 
divine  worship  at,  81 
despair   in,  98,   99 
divine   worship  at,  81 
Dutch  expedition  against,   103,   104 
health  of  settlers  in,  88 
importance  of,  74 
instructions  for  operations  at,  81 
its  length  of  life,  74 
kinds  of  trading  goods  in,  91 
lack  of  trading  goods  at,  87,  88 
misfortune   of,   74 
new   commissary   for,    100 
new  director  in,   102 
new   regulations   for,    102 
ninth  expedition  to,   100 
operations  at,  81,   82 
shipbuilding  in,   99 
shipments   from,   86 
trying  times  in,  86,  87 
New  York,  capture  of,  by  Holland,   160 

effects  of  Penn's  purchase  at  Albany 

in,   291 
seeks  re-  annexation  of  Pennsylvania. 

294 
Nicolls.  Col.   Richard.   140.   142-144;  govern 
orship    of.    144;    honorable    administration 


Index 


of,    144;   inspection   by,    143;   retui-n   of   to 
England,    144 

Noble,    Richard,   surveyor,    171 

Non-importation  resolutions,  564,  565;  adop- 
tion of,  S53,  570 

Norris,  Isaac,  307,  324,  372,  390,  392,  419, 
425;    departure   of    for    England,   358;    ill- 
ness of,  480;  prominence  of,  514;  Quaker 
leader,  391;  resignation  of  as  speaker,  544 
party,  the,  392 
Richard,  363 

Northampton  county, 'formation  of,  412;   In- 
dian atrocities  in,  450,  451 

Northern    Liberties,    defense   of   barracks   in 
the,  536 

North,    Lord   Chief  Justice,   295;    submission 
of  patent  to,  202 

Nova  Scotia  immigrants,  450 

Oath   of  office   required,   348 
Ogden,    Amos,    572 

Nathan,    572,    573 
Ohio   company,   the,   416 

Indians,    attitude    of,    479 
Onrust,  the,  40,   41,  43-48;  at  the   mouth  of 
the  Schuylkill,  43 

building  of,   40 

explorations  with  the,  41 

petition    of    owners    for    trade    privi- 
leges, 43-48 
Original    counties,    263 
Orndt,  Major  Jacob,  491 

Orphan's  court,  business  of,  transferred,  514 
Owen,  Griffith,   323,   343 
Owens,  Samuel,  554 
Oxenstiern,    Chancellor   Axel,   68 

Palatinate,   emigrants   from   the,    305 

persecution   in   the,   305 
Palmer,  Anthony,  408 
Papegoia,   Madam,   147 
Paper  money,  issues  of,  371,   507 

objections  to  the  issue  of,  508 

petitions  for,  569 

proposition  to  issue,  443 

the  first  issued,  368,  369 
"Paradise   Point,"   70 

Parallel,  the  40th,  as  a  boundary,  381,  382; 
uncertainty  of  location  of,   382 

the  39th  as  a  boundary,  381,  3S2 
Paris,   Ferdinand  John,   372 


Parliament,   petition   to,   566,   567 

levying  of  duties  by,   560 
Partridge,   Richard,  390 
Parvin,  Francis,  449,   456 
Passyunk,   fortified  post  at,  79 
Pastorius,   Francis  Daniel,  305 

purchase  of  land  by,   306 
Patterson,  William,  491 
Pawling,  Henry,  486 
Peace  established  with  the   Six  Nations,  425 

ordered  on  the  borders,  385 
Pearson,   Isaac,   547 
Peepy,  Joseph,  claims  of,   524 
Pemberton,    Israel,    452,    453,    462-464,    473, 
5^5.   538 

Israel,   jr.,    warrant    for,   388 
James,  449,  456 
Phineas,   322,   343;   274   note 
Penington,   Edward,   514 

Penn,    Captain    and    Admiral    William,    188, 
189,  192,  193,  210 

Dennis,  36-3 ;  death  of,  372,  373 
family,    the,    188;    adjustment    of    the 

differences  of  the,   372,  373 
Gaskell  family,  373 
Governor,    blamed    by    the    Assembly, 

564 
Hannah,    363,    369,    370;    deeds    from, 

373;  letter  to,  361,  362 
John,  363,  383,  406,  424,  571;  arrival 
of,    419,    532;    birthplace    of,    374; 
conflict  of  with  the  Assembly,  541 ; 
death  of,   401;   deed  to,   373;   head 
of   the    government,    374;    marriage 
of,    556;    son   of   Richard,   405;    the 
American,     374-401;     visit     of,     to 
America,    375;   will   of,    405 
Richard,  363,  402,  557;  death  of,  406; 
deed   to,    373;    family   of,    405;    son 
of  Richard,  405 
Springett,  370,  511;  death  of,  373 
Thomas,  363,  374,  376,  402,  502,  511; 
anecdotes   of,   406,   407;   arrival   of, 
375;  bequest  to,  405;  death  of,  406; 
deed  to,   373;   estates  in  charge   ot, 
406;     estimate     by,     403-405;     gift 
from,    451;    leniency   of,    390;    mar- 
riage  of.    406;   precedence   of,   37s; 
sacrifice   by,    387;    treaty    with,    378 
Penn,  William,  the  Founder,    188.   189,  293, 
30:,  322,  324,  366,  367,  416,  482,  510 


592 


Index 


William   IVnii  the  Founder,  a   Knight's  son, 

325 

acquisition  of  Susttuchanna  lands  by, 

-'94 
accusations  against.   3j6 
and    Lord    r.altinion-.    differences    be- 
tween,  2S:: 
and  the  colonists,  differences  between, 

338 
application   of.    for  grant,    199 
arrest  of,  359 

as  president  of  the  Council,  296 
assignment   to.    194 
description  of  his  town  by.  295 
occupies  the  slate  roof  house,  337 
opposition    to.   at   Albany,   293 
r.ancroft's  praise  of,   216 
basis  of  his  colony,  2-9,  280 
banishment  of,  from  Oxford,  191 
becomes  a  Quaker,  192,   193 
commissioners  of,   217 
compromise  of,  with  the  Fords,  359 
conditions  imposed   upon,   328 
confirmation  of  will  of,  373 
character  of  expectations  of,  216 
children   of,   331 

dealings  of,  with  the  Iroquois,  290 
death  of,  363 

deed  of   Pennsylvania   from,  334 
deprived  of  his  government,   326 
disowned  by  the  Meeting,  358 
dispossession   of,    threatened,   294 
draft  of  patent  by,  201 
early  letter  of.   192.   193,  203 
early  religious  thoughts  of,  189 
early   Quaker   learnings  of,    :89,    190 
early  thoughts  of  America,   193 
efforts  to  raise  money  for,  358,  359 
emotions  of  at  Philadelphia,  257 
estates,  conditions  regarding  the,  374, 

375 
estates,   different  kinds  of,   402 
estates,  estimate  of,  403-405 
estates,   struggle  as  to  taxing,   418 
eulogy   on   the   second   wife  of,   332 
extracts  from  letters  of,  261,  271,  272 
government    restored   to,    328 
his  student  life,   189 
important  papers  by,  212,  215 
instructions  of,  217,  218,  314 
interest  of,  in  New  Jersey,   194 

1-38 


William   Penn,   the    Founder,   landing  of,   at 
New  Castle,  254 

landing  of,   at    Upland,   255 

land  purchases  by,  287-289 

large  powers  granted  to,  203,  204 

lease  of  land  by,  from  Uongan,  293 

letters    of,    216,    217,    253,    254,    283, 

284,  290,  295,  302 
letters  of,  to  settlers,  204,  207 
manors  of,  403 
marriage  of,    193 
meeting  of,  with   Lord  Baltimore,  270 

271,   281 
military  life  of,   192 
motives   of.    204 
pamphlet  by,  210,  211,  260 
patent  of,  approved,  203 
patent  of,  renewed,  202 
place  and  date  of  birth  of,    185 
prices  paid  for  land  by,  289 
prohibitive    features  of,   310 
prompt  action  of,  210 
reasons  of  his  success,  209 
relations  with  the   Indians,  284-288 
release  of   from   prison,   359 
request  for  loan  by,  327 
request   of,    for   restoration,   327 
rights   of,    on    the    west   bank   of    the 

Delaware,  220 
sales  of  land  by,  306 
sale  by,  to  the  crown,  362 
sailing  of,  for  America,  223 
sails   from   England,   252 
second   marriage   of.   331 
speech  of,  254 
spread  of  his  movement  in  Germany, 

306 
suggestion  of,  to  Lords  of  Trade,  334 
suspected  of  being  a   Papist,   325 
terms  of  sale  by.  211 
travels  of,  in  Europe,  191,  192 
trustees  of  property  of,  363 
verdict  against,   359 
visit   of,   to    Holland.    199 
visit  of,   to    Ireland,    192 
visit  of,   to   Philadelphia,   257 
visits  New  York,  262 
bill  of,  363 
youth    of,    189 
Penn,    William,   jr.,    352.    363.    37o;    arrival 
of,    351;    character   of,    364;    children    of, 

593 


Index 


36s;  death  of,  365,  370;  denouncement  of, 
353;  instructions  from,  364,  365;  payment 
of  debts  by,  359 

Penn,  William,  son  of  Si>ringett,  373 
William,  the  younger,  331,  332 

Pennock,   Nathaniel,   457,   547 

Penn's   (William)    agents  in   Rotterdam,  306 
boundary  agreement  by  the,  382 
deeds  recorded  in  New   York,  262 
fairness  towards  the  Indians,  290 
government,   organization   of,   262-270 
heavy   outlays,   325 
lands,  trustee   for,   510 
lieutenant-governors,  346-362 
petition  of  the,  383 
private  property  of  the,  403 
title  to  soil  of  lower  counties,  381 
widow,  death  of,  373 

Pennsylvania  and   Virginia  boundary,   423 
an  English  community,  307 
and     ilaryland    boundaries,     244-252, 

270,  271,  281,  282 
charter,  the,  223-235 
commercial   situation   in,    556 
committed  to   Benjamin  Fletcher,  326 
community,    173 
Dutch,  the,  308 
early  description  of,   239-241 
early  social  conditions  in,  513 
effects  of  French   war  in,  416 
English  view  of  conditions  in,  455 
frame  of  government  of,  212,  215 
first  white  men  in,  30 
forts,   garrisons  of  the,   528 
frontier  at  date  of  Penn's  death,  510 
frontier,   protection   of,   445 
Gazette,   letter  to,   545 
governor's     message     to     Connecticut, 

571 
in  harmony  with   Indians,  420 
History,   beginning  of,    i 
lands,  sale  of,  510 
mortgage  on,   359 
population  of,  556 
religious  movements  in,  375 
settlement,   effect   of,   at    Albany,    291 
situation   in,   explained,   556 
tax   basis,    466 

the  granary  of  America.   408 
traders  cdniplaiiied  of,   416 


Pennsylvania    troops    in    the    Duquesne    ex- 
pedition, 488 

troops,  officers  of,   490-492 
I'cnnypacker,  Governor,  323 
I'eppcrell,   Sir  William,   431 
I'eace  between   England,   France  and   Spain, 
5 -'8 

of   Breda,    144 
Peter,   Ilendrick,   in    Philadelphia,  432 
Peters,   Rev.   Richard,  419,  425,  435,   508 

William,   449,   456 
Philadelphia  as  laid  out  by  Penn,  295 

beginnings  of,  258 

changes  of  land  grants  in,  258 

claim  of  Dutch  purchase  on  site  of,  59 

creation  of  false  alarm  in,  356,  357 

deputies  from,  265 

early  conditions  at,  260,  261 

early  fair  and  market  at,  295 

first  charter  of,  316 

first  clerk  of,  316 

first  mayor  of,  316 

first  occupancy  of,  by  white  men,  82 

first  recorder  of,  316 

fear   of  attack  upon,   408 

Hill  chosen  mayor  of,  360 

Indian  treaty  at,  376-378 

land  grant  in,    173 

measures  for  defense  of,  408,  411 

merchants,  agreement  of,   553 

new  charter  for,  343,  344 

objections    to     quartering    troops    in, 

463.    464 

plan   of,   257,   258 

port  of  supply,  408 

purchase  of  land  within  site  of,   79 

purchase  of  site  of,  90 

site  of,  chosen,  241,  242 
Phillips,    Frederick,    294 
Pierce,   Ezekiel,   520 
Pietersen,   Evart,    T14 
Pietists,  the,  308 
Pioneer  English  settlers,  307 

hardships,   177 

white  men   in   Pennsylvania,  30-66 
Pioneers,  first  contact  of  with  Indians,  34 
Piracy,  334,  335 

enactment  of  a  law  against,  337 
Piratical  craft  in  Delaware  bay,  335 
Pittsburg,  building  of  fort  at,   509 

garrison   at,    499 


594 


Index 


I'itlslnirg,    naming   of,    498 
IMain   Truth,    408 

Plan  of   IJroad  and    Market   streets,   58 
I'lays,  proposed  sup|)ression  of,  507 
Plockhoy,  Cornelius,   14J 

Plojvden,    Sir    Kdmund,    arrival    of,    61,   62; 
Rrant  to,  59,  60;  return  of  to  England,  6j 
Pole,   John,   399 

Political  conditions  in  Kngland,  J07,  208 
contest,  Allen   vs.   Norris,   39J 
power,  division  of,  513 
Poll   tax,   166,    167;   how   collected,    167;   list 

of  |K-rsons  subject  to,    167,    168 
Pontiac's  conspiracy,  58 
Population  statistics,  362 
Post,   Kev.   Christian   Frederick,  486 
Potter,    Tames,   460,   491 
Powell,  Samuel,  45J 
I'owlett,   Karl,  373 
Presidcntgcneral,  duties  of,  4J5 
Presque    Isle,  evacuation  of  fort  at.  509 

loss  of  fort  at,  529 
Preston,  Samuel,  324,  363 
Printz,  John,  62,   ;6 

arrival  of,  76 

as  governor  of  New   Sweden,  85 

departure  of,  from  New  Sweden,  99 

grants  of  land   to,  93 

liis  instructions   for   New   Sweden,  81 

his  prominence  in   New   Sweden,  81 

succession   of,   to    llollender,   80 
Print/.  Mauritz.   wreck  of  the,    113 
Printzdorp,   93 
Printzhof,   naming  of,   83 
Proclamation  of  war,  452 

of  war   with   I'rance,   395 
Profanity,  penalties  for,  268 
I'rogress  in   1682,  241,  242 

on  the  Delaware.  236 
Proprietaries,    agreement    between    adverse, 
386 

agreement  of  the,   with    Franklin.   503 

agreement   of,    with    the    Sust|uehanna 
com|)any,   57 

aid  in  building  fort,  419 

answer    from,    502,    503 

complaint  against  the,  541,  342 

complaints  to,   501,   502 

income  of,   503 

injustice  against   the,   508 

lanil  agents,  complaints  against.  573 


Proprietaries'    lands,    taxes   on    defined.    518, 
519 

message    from,    to   the    Assembly,    503 
purchase    of    lands   by    the,    426.    568, 

569 
policy  of,  under   Denny,   459 
proposition  of  exemption,  442.  443 
request   to,   for   redress,   502 
rights  abridged.   514 
sent   for,   47 1 
taxable  estates  of  the,   503 

Proprietary   authority,  opposition   to,   547 
complaints  against,   352 
estates,  exemption  of,  484 
estates,   parts   of   subject    to   taxation, 

S"7.   518 
estates,  taxation  of,   449,  450 
failure  of  first,  to  return,  346 
governments,    ainicxation    of,    to    the 

Crown,  340 
grants,   203 

injustice,    opponents    of,    542 
title  of,  to  the  lower  counties.  380 

Proprietors,   agreement   of,    194 

temporary  jurisdiction  of  the,  386 

Property,  distribution  of,  269 

Protestant  land   for  burying  grounds.   372 

Province,  agent  of,  in   F^ondon,  372 
debt  of,  to  (ireat   Britain,  553 
defenseless  state  of  the,   454 
defense    of,    demanded,    450 
defense  of  the,  387 
Island,   building  on,  82 
measures   for   defense  of,    504 

Provinces   called    to    New    York    treaty    with 
Indians,  423 

Provincial  council,  early  business  of,  296 
election  of  a,  328 
function   in   law  making,  320 
minutes  of.    295.   296 
l>enalties  inflicted  by.  296,  299 
secretary   to.   300 

Provincial     court     ju<lge.     impeachment     of, 
3 1".    .<" 

court,   opening  of  the,   347 
troops,   lands   for,   569 

Provisions,   prices  of,   239 

Public  conference  in   Philadel])hia,  480 
landing  place,   the.   257 
Square    in    Philadelphia.    258 

Pusey,   Caleb,  323,  343 


l-.^H-a 


595 


Index 


Quakers,    185,    186 
Ouakerism,   doctrine  of,    191 

reception  of,   in   Wales,   307,   308 
Quaker  address  to  the  governor,  45-' 

control,  restlessness  under,  ,548 

influence  in  the  Assembly,  390 

judges,  protest  against,   347 

opposition      to      defensive      measures, 
457.   388 

opposition  to  Indian   war,  418 

policy   in   war,   391 

preachers,   persecution  of,   191 
Quakers,  address  of,  to  the  Assembly,  449 

and   German   politics,   392 

and    the    governor,    disputes    between, 

391.  392 
ask  for  pacific  measures,  45J 
attitude   of   the,    on    military    matters, 

455 
defense  of,  by  Penn,  347 
driven  from  the  State  house,  392 
election  of,  to  the  Assembly,  457 
forbidden  to  act  in  treaty,   47 1 
peaceful  intentions  of,  315 
sense  of  equality  among,  310 
spread  of  the,    510 
the  Christian,  320 

Quarry,   Robert,   made  judge  of  the   Admir- 
alty, 335 

Queen,  vote  of  money  for,  360,  361 

Queen's  demand   for  men,  360 

Quit  rents,  act  for  collection  of,  354 
as  part  of  the  Penn  estate,  402 
low  paid,    371 
proposed  exemption  of,   465 

Rambo,  Pieter,   114,   162 

Rambo,   Peter  Gunnarsson,  sketch  of,   75 

Randolph,   Edw.,   334 

Rappe,  Capt.  Gabriel,  302 

Raquier,   Jacob,    302 

Rawle,    Francis,    323 

Read,  Adam,  491 

Reading  and    Hethlehem,   outrages  near,   531 

terror   at,   485 
Recorder  of  Philadelphia,   the   first,   316 
Red   Stone   settlement,   555 
Religious   movements,    375 

persecution  as  a  cause  of  immigration, 
302,  305 
Religious   sects   unmolested,   354 


Remke,  Govert,  306 
Remonstrance  to  the   King,  .1,   390 
Report   on   Logan   letter,   391 
Revolt   of  the    Delawarcs,   the,   445478 
Reynell,  John,  452 
Reynolds,  William,  491 
Rhea,  John,   553 
Riboleau,   Nich..  302 
Richardson,   Francis,   307,  324 
John,   273 
Samuel,   323 
Riot  of  1742,  the,  392 
Risingh,  Johan   Claesson,    100;   departure  of 

for  England,    106 
Rittenhouse  square,  258 
Road  to  the   Susquehanna  river,   571 
Roads,  laying  out  of,  434 
ordered  opened,  279 
Roades,   John,    273 
Robinson,    Patrick,   3 1 1 
Rochford,  Dennis,  275,  296 
Rodman,  William,   547 
Roman   Catholics,   attack   upon,   355 
Royal    American    regiment,    the,    457,    463, 

528 

governor,    authority    of,    in    Pennsyl- 
vania, 294,  29s 
Rudyard,  Thomas,  217,   foot  note 
Rushton,  Job,  492 
Ruyven,    Corneilius   Van,    120 

Sabbath   day,  restrictions  on  the,  268 
Sale  of  liquor  to  the  Indians  restricted,  268, 
269 

of  West   India   Company   claims,    112, 

113 
Salem,   naming  of,    196 
Sample,    William,    265 
Sandelands,  James,   171,  236,  265 
Scarrooyady,   advice    from,   420 

hatchet  given  to,  452 

in  Philadelphia,  431 

request  of,  for  aid,  449 
Schepel,  its  meaning,    167,   foot  note 
School  house,  the,  258 

teacher  of  the  first.   296 

the  first,    1 1 5 

the  first  indication  of,   299 
Schuylkill,  grants  of  land  on,   173 

settlement  on  the,  82 

the  key  to  Indian  trade,  94 


596 


Index 


Schute,  Svcn,   loo,   loi,   114 
Scotch-Irish    immigration,    307,    368 

settlement    of,    on    the    Susquehanna, 
510 
Scotch   settlers,   the,   307 
Scott,  John  M..  323 

Joseph,   491 
Seizure    of    Swedish    vessels   by    Stuyvesant. 

103 
.Seneca    Indians,    dissatisfaction    among    the, 

563 
Servants,  sale  of,   165 
Settlement    by    the    Susquehanna    Compan^, 

570,   571 

first     permanent    on    Delaware    river, 

73 
near  Laurel   Hill,  418,  419 
on  the  west  of  the   Sus<iuehanna,  383 
west  of  the  Alleghanies,  555 
Settlements    of    Germans    and    Scotch-Irish, 

511 
Settlers,  conditions  of  early,   174 
names  of  early,  323 
on  unpurchased  lands,  punishment  of, 

564 

proposed  removal  of,  562,  563 

summoned  to  welcome  Penn,  254 
Shamokin,  fort  at,  452 

Indian  lands  at,  497,  498 

lands,   reservation  of,   426 

stores  at,  527 
Sharp,  James,   491 

Joshua,   454 
Sheriffs,  issue  of  writs  to,  262 
Shickcalamy,  John,  426,  431,  452 
Shippen.   Brevet   Lieut-Col.   Joseph,   488 

Edward,    307,    343,    480;    appointment 

of,  as  mayor,   343 ;   chosen  speaker, 

331;    president   of   the   council,    347 

Shippcnsburg,  building  of  fort  at,  442 

Shirley,    Governor,    in    command    of    troops, 

431 
Shoemaker,    Benjamin,    408,    567,    570 
Shute,  Atwood,  463 
Simcock,    John,    312,    322;    chosen    speaker, 

332 
Simon,   Menno,   305 
Singleton.  John,   491 
Sipman,   Dirck,   306 
Six  Nations,  alleged  breach  of  faith   by  the. 

432 


Six    Natiiins,   asked   to   make   war,   399 
chiefs  of,  leave  a  council,  497 
fears  for  fealty  of  the,  396,  399 
peace   with,   425 
presents  for,  375 
purchase    from,    412 
sale    of    land    by,    426;     title    of    the, 
475-4/8 
Six  requirements,  the,  518,  519 
Skinner,  Joseph,  520 
Slaves  of  the  Dutch  colony,   142 
Sluyter,    Peter,    180 
Smallman,   Thomas,   491 
Small-pox  on  the  Welcome,  253 
Smith,  Captain  John,  30-31,  32,  35;  extract 
from    journal    of,    31-33;    interview    with 
Indians,    33 

Knsign    Dirck,    112 
Henry.  218 
James,    554 

James,   leader  of  rioters,  549,   550 
John,  452,   520,  572 
Lemuel,   520 
Matthew,  539 

Provost   William,    413,    507,    548,    555 
Thomas,   492 
Snaidor,  Jacob,  491 
Society  of  Friends,  the,  309 

schism   in   the,   316,   317;   political   op- 
position to,  336;   political   organiza- 
tion of  the,  390 
Songhurst,  John,  275,  322 
Southrin,   Edward,  265,  273 
South    River,    D'Hinoyossa,    ruler    of.    133; 
direction    of   affairs   of,    50;    Dutch    trade 
on,   56,  59;   English  visitors  to,  59;   Swed- 
ish expedition  to,  69;  cession  of,   133;  the 
Delaware.    49 
Springett.  Guleilma  Maria.   193 
Henry.  359 
Sir  William.  332 
Springettsbury.   manor   of.    511 
Stamp  act,  inception  of  the.  544 

partial    willingness   to  submit   to.   551 
remonstrance  against,  determined   up- 
on,  551 
repeal   of,   556 

sale  of  stamps  under   the.   550 
Stamp  agent,  burning  of  in  effigy,  551;   res- 
ignation of,   552 
-Stamp  duties,  opposition  to.   545.   546 


597 


Index 


Stamp  law  in   America,   544 
Stamper,  John,  390 
Stamps,  arrival  of,   551 

deposit  of  on  a  man-of-war,  552 
flags  at   half  mast  on   arrival   of.    551 
opi)osition   to   sale   of,   551,    552 
Stanley,   Thomas,   324 
Stanwix,    Brigadier-General,   arrival    of,    501 

Lieut.-Col.  John,  470 
State  house,  the,  258;  completion  of,   372 
St.  Clair,  Sir  John,  432,  434,  492,  500 
Steel,   Rev.  John,   491 
Stewart,  Charles,  569,  571,  572 

Lazarus,  573 
Stille,    Dr.    Charles   Jancway,    80 
Isaac,   interiireter,    498,    524 
Olaf,  114 
Olaff   Persson,   80 
Stockdale,   William,   322 
Stone,  Ludowick,  492 
Story,  Thomas,   343 
Strettell,  Robert,  391,  408 
Streypers,  Jan,  306 
Strobo,  Robert,  427 
Stump,  Frederick,  563 

Stuyvesant,   Governor    Peter,   arrival   of,   on 
the   Delaware,    1 1 3 

arrival  of,  at  }ilanhattan,  93 
embassy  sent  by,  to  Maryland,   120 
ordered  to  retake  Fort  Casimir,   103 
operations    of,    against    New    Sweden, 

97.   98 
visit  of,  to   New   Sweden,  98 
Stuyvesant's    denouncement    of     Maryland's 

claims,   120 
Suits  at  law,    163 
Supply  bill  passed,   504;   repeal   of,   favored, 

518 
Surveying  in  early  years,  241.  242 
Suspension   and   restoration    of    Penn's   gov- 
ernment, 325-345 
Susquehanna   company,   the,    520;    agents   of 
arrested,    571;   agreement  by,    572;   claims 
of  the,  570;    Indian  deed  to  the,  520;  pro- 
ceedings   of    the,    570;    proposed    sale    of 
lands  by,  423 

lands,  292-294;  sale  of  to  I'eun,  294 
union    of,    with    the     Delaware    com- 
pany.   522 
Susquehannock  Indians,   17-18 


Swanandael,    destruction    of,    53-54;    settle- 
ment at,   53 
Swanson,   Swan,   237,   275 
Sweden,  claims  of,  against  Holland,  106 
fourth  expedition,   from.  80 
ships  sent  from,  to  America,  69 
third   expedition    from,   80 
Swedes,  appeal  of  for  more  colonists,  94 
and  Dutch,  absorption  of,  307 
and    Dutch,   conference   between,   71 
character  of,  at  Christina,  80 
characteristics  of,  261 
conflict  of,   with  the  Dutch,  94 
eighth   expedition   of,   94 
expedition  of,  to  the  South   River,  69 
first   settlement   of,   67-108 
loss  of  eighth  expedition,  94,  97 
mill  of  the,  91,    175 
on  the  Delaware,  misfortune  to,  94 
probable   definite   grants   to,    133 
refusal  of,  to  enlist,   132 
refusal  of,  to  remove,   131,    132 
settlement  of,  65 
submission  of,  to  the  Dutch,    iii 
take  oath  of  allegiance  to  Stuyvesant, 
104 
Swedish    colony,    failure    of    the.    107,    108; 
friendly    relations    of,    with    Indians,    :o8; 
personality  of,   75 

Company,  agreement  of,  with  Indians, 
70,    71;    enlarged    charter    for    the, 
68;    organization   of,   67:   treaty   of, 
with    Indians,   72 
governor   on   the    Delaware,   62 
expedition,    arrival    of,    in    the    Dela- 
ware, 70;  capital  for,  69;  the  tenth. 
107 
Swen,   Oelc,    162 

Sydney,   Col.   Henry,   letter   to,   295 
Symcock,  John,  265,  273 

Talbot,    Richard,   291 

TarifT,   a   protective,   imposed,    511 

on  persons,   511 
Taverns,   early   licenses   for,   269,   270 
Taylor,   Abraham,  408 

Christopher,   265,   273;   sketch  of,  322 

Col.   Thomas,   270 

George,    547 
Tax  bill,  submission  of,  to  the  King,  465 

granted  on  estates,  449 


598 


Index 


Tax     le\  ialilc     c.n     the     proprietary     estates. 

457 

lev  it  (I.   3j8 

levied  on  all  estates,  465 
on   luxuries  proposed,  466 
oppressive  condition  of  a,  465 
Taxes,   levy  of,  m 
poll,    166,    167 
proiirictary    obstruction     to     levy    of, 

SO-* 
Taxation,    400 

features  of,   465.   466 
mctliod   of,    rejected,    504 
of  the   proprietaries,  44J,  443 
proposed   method   of,    503,   504 
Teacher,  the  first,  in   Philadelphia,  J99 
TeedyuscunR,   arrival   of,   471;   arrival   of  at 
I'hiladelphia,  480;  complaint  of,  496,  521; 
death    of,    527;    evil    influence    of,    458; 
negotiations  with,  523-526;   report  of  mes- 
senger to,  461,  462;   re<|uest  of   for  clerk, 
473;    sjtcech    of,    481,    482;    influence    of, 
486,   487 
Telescope,   purchase   of,   ordered,    569 
Telmer,  Jacob,  306 
Test,   John,   merchant,    171 
Theater,  building  of,  557,  558 
Theatres,   opposition   to,   557,   558 
Third  expedition  from  Sweden  to  Christina, 

80 
Thirty  years  war,  the.  67 
Thomas,   Cleorgc,  arrival   of,   387;   departure 

of,   407 
Thompson,    Mordecai.   488 

William,   492 
Thomson,  Charles,  445.  486.   551;  as  Tccdy- 

uscung's   clerk,   473 
Till,  William,  408 
Tinakonk,    183,    185 
Tinicum    (Tenacong),   82 
fort   at,   burned,   87 
Island,    1 88 

mansion  house  built  at,  83 
Swedish   settlement  at,  82,  83 
Tobacco,  cultivation  of,   in   New   Sweden,  86 
Torkillus,   Rev.    Reorus,  76;  death  of,  86 
Town  clerk,  the  first,  316 
Townsend,    Richard,    271 
Townships  along   the   river,    520 
Towns   laid    out    by    the    Susiiuehanna   Com- 
pany, 570 


Trade  legislation,  278 

restriction  on  the  Delaware,   156 

with    Kngland,    renewed,    574 
Trading  |)ost  at  Will's  creek,  419 

iwsts.   523 
Tradition  of   I^nape   migration,   27-29 
Transit  of  N'enus,  early  ob^rvation  of,   569 
Trappe,  church   at,   511 
Treaty  at   Kaston,  effect  of,  479 

of  peace,  41 1 

of  peace,   signing  of,   528 

the  great,   282-288 

the  great,  description  by   I'enn,  285 

the  great,  time  of  making,  283 

tree,   the,   286    foot   note 

with   Indians,  367 

with   Indians  at   Philadelphia,  376-378 
Trent,  William,  324;   fort  ordered  by,  420 
Trial,  the  first,   for  witchcraft,  300,  301 
Trinity   fort,  reconstruction  of,    102 
Tripp,   Isaac,   570,   571 
Troops,  ammunition   for,  400 

bill    for    raising,    304 

call    for,   427,   466,   4S3,   519 

call  for  more,  .199 

depaiture  of,  for   .\lb£ny.  401 

desertion  of,  546 

for  defense  of  .Vew   York,   480 

from   England,  457 

in     Philadelphia,     condition     of,     463, 
464 

march   of,   t>>    I-'ort    Hu'iucsne,    498 

march   of,   towards   Fort    Pitt,    528 

ordered  to  Carlisle,  480 

organization   of,   389 

pay  of,  in  arrears,  466 

pay  of,  provided  for,  469 

i|uartering   of,    in    public    houses   and 
dwellings,    463 

quarters   for,   demanded,    464,    46; 

raised   by    Pennsylvania,    483 

raised   through   bounties,   470 

royal   order    for,    400 

under    Bouquet,  attack   u]«>n,   530 
Trotter,    Joseph,    440 
Trump,   Levi,  491 
Turner.   Capt.    Nathaniel,   79 

Joseph,   408 

Robert.     203.     296,     307,     310.     323: 
Penn's    letter    to,    2i(>.    217 


599 


Index 


Union,  plan  of,  adopted,  425 

of  the  colonies,  effort  for,  334 
Upland    (Chester),   87 

county,  237 

court,  236;  complaint  to,  175;  juris- 
diction of,  173,  174;  justices,  162; 
meeting  of,   172 

name  changed  to  Chester,  255 
Usher,   Thomas,   263 
Usselinex,  William,  67 
Utie,  Col.  Nathaniel,  letter  to,  118,   119 

Van  Bibber,  Jacob   Fsaacs,  306 
Van  Campen,  John,  569 
Vanderbilt,   Cornelius,   323 
Van  Twiller,  Wouter,  arrival  of  at  Manhat- 
tan,  59 
Venango,  evacuation  of  foot  at,   509 

loss  of  post  at,   529 
N'erhoof,   Cornelius,   265 
Vessel  finred  upon  at  New  Castle,  358 
Vigilance    men,    advertisement    by    the,    549, 

550 
Virginia,  armed   force   from,   65 

treaty  of  with  Indians,  418 
Voyage  of  Cornelius  Mey,  40 

Wade,    Robert,    236,    275,    300;    site    of    his 
house,  255,  foot  note;  purchase  of  Printz- 
dorp  by,   168,  171 
William,  253 
Waldenfield,  Samuel,  363 
Waldron,    Resolved,    120 
Wales,    new   arrivals    from,    510 
Walking  purchase,  the,   377,   378,   480 
Wain,   Nicholas,  275,  296 
Walter,    Richard,    491 

War  against  the  French  on  the  Ohio,  431 
among  the   Iroquois,    130 
between    England   and   Holland,    100; 

effects  of,    159,    160 
between    Swedes    and    Dutch,    blood- 
less, 107 
declared   against    France,   457 
determined  upon,   452 
expected  with   France,   314 
lawful    and   unlawful,    390 
measures,    proprietary   obstruction    to, 

502 
Pontiac's,   528 
proclamation  of,   347 

600 


V\  ar,  prospects  of,   with  Spain,  387 
Quaker  opposition   to,   347 
with    France,   operations  against   Can- 
ada,   400,    401 
with    France    proclaimed,    395 
with    Indians   threatened,    152,   ISS 
with   Spain  proclaimed,  388,  389 
with   Spain,   troops  for,  389 
Ward,    Edward,    460,    491 
Warder,    Jeremiah,    463 
Warner,   William,   173,  236 
Warren,   Peter,   399 
Wasa,    building    of,    88,    91;    identical    with 

Kingesse,  91 
Washington,  George,  at  Fort  Necessity,  426, 
427;    complained    of    by    an    Indian,    428; 
engages    the     I'rench,     424;     in     the     Du- 
quesne   expedition,   492,   493;    letter   from, 
492;   visit  of,   to  French   fort,  420;   march 
of,     from     Will's    creek,     424;     reinforce- 
ment of,   426 
square,  258 
Watson,   Luke,  265 
Wayne  county,   settlement  in,   520 
Weights  and  measures,  278 
Weiser,   Conrad,   447,   453,   538;    interpreter, 
399 

Samuel,   491 
Welcome,    the,    220;     arrival    of    the,    254; 
births   on    board   of,    253;    sailing   of    the, 
252;   voyage  of  the,  252,  253 
Welsh  colonists,  arrival  of,  302 
company,   the,   271 
settlers,   position   of   at   home,   308 
tract,  the,  302 
Walton,  Rev.  Richard,  D.  D.,  355 
Werden,    Sir   John,   200,   201,   202 
West,   Benjamin,  283 

Jersey   colony,    195 
Western    Pennsylvania,    first    white    man    in, 
178;    Indian    occupancy,    18-19;    terror   in, 
528. 
West    India    Company,    charter    of    granted, 
48;   essentially    for   trade,    135;    represent- 
ative   of,     116,     117;     sale    of    its    claims. 
112,    113 
West   Indies,    immigrants   from,   307 
Westminster,   treaty   of,    160 
Weston,   Anthony,   299 
Wetterholt,   John    Nicholas,   491 
Whale  fishery,  intent  to  carry  on,  50 


Index 


Whipping  as  a  penalty.  209 
Wharton,    Bromley,   323 

family,   the,   323 

Samuel,   553 
White   captives,   release   of,   546 

man's   region,   the,   511 

pioneers,   the,   30-66 
Whitwell,   Francis,   265,  266,   322 
Whorekill  county,   deputies   from,   265 
Wicaco,    259;    church    at.    177:    patentee    of 

land  at,   163 
Wilcox,  Joseph,   352 
William   and   Mary,  patent    from.   .'28 
William  of  Orange.   208 
Williams.   Ileinrich,   275 
Will,   terms  of  Penn's,   363 
Willing,   Thomas,    553 
Wine   making  from  native  grapes,   302 
Wissahickon,    1-3 
Witchcraft,  first  and  only  trial  for  300,  301; 

verdict  in  case  of,  301 
Withers.   Ralph.   265.   273.   322 
Wolves,   bounties   for   killing,   278 
Wood.    John.    243 
Woodmancy.   William.    173 
Woodmanson,    William,    236 
Work.    Lieut. -Col.    Patrick.   491 


Worrall.   I'etcr.  449.  456 

Wynne,    J)r.    Thomas,    258    foot    note;    265. 

276,    323 
Wyoming,   building  at,   486 

departure   of    Connecticut    men    from, 
57.? 

expedition    to,    572 

forts  and   houses  at,   480 

Indian    lands  at,    497,   498 

lands,    reservation   of,    426 

large   settlement  at,   527 

massacre    at,    531 

protest   against   rettlcmtnt   at.    521 

settlement    at,    opposed,    523 

surrender   demanded   at,    572 

troubles    among    occupants    of.    573 

Yardley,   William,   265.   322 
Yong  and  Evelin,  building  of  a  fort,  by,  63; 
significance  of  visit  of,  62 

Thomas,  voyage  of.  up  the  Delaware, 
62,  63;   report  of,  63 
Young,    James,    488 

(or   Yong),   Thomas,   arrival   of,   59 
York  county,  manors  in,  511;    formation  of, 
412 


601 


J     IZUO  UZOZO    /  l"tl 


IIP  .-,„,,,,,  |...  |iM  lONM   1  IIIM1HV  I  ACII  ITV 


lllllllllllllllllllllillllllilliilllllllillll' 
AA    000  915  865    0 


